Shloka 2
आत्मदर्शन-उपदेशः (Ātma-darśana Upadeśa) — Mind, Senses, and the All-pervading Self
लोकतत्त्वं च कार्त्स्न्येन भूतानामागतिं गतिम् । सर्गश्न निधनं चैव कुत एतत् प्रवर्तते,मैं लोकका तत्त्व पूर्णरूपसे जानना चाहता हूँ। प्राणियोंक आवागमन और सृष्टि-प्रलय किससे होते हैं?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | lokatattvaṃ ca kārtsnyena bhūtānām āgatiṃ gatiṃ | sargaś ca nidhanaṃ caiva kuta etat pravartate ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Nais kong maunawaan nang ganap ang tunay na kalikasan ng daigdig—kung paanong ang mga nilalang ay dumarating at umaalis sa kanilang pag-ikot sa sansara, at kung paanong nagaganap ang paglikha at pagkalusaw. Saang pinagmumulan nagbubuhat at umuusad ang buong prosesong ito?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational inquiry of Śānti Parva: understanding the causal basis of saṃsāra—how beings repeatedly arrive and depart—and the larger cosmic rhythm of creation and dissolution. It sets up a dharmic-philosophical discussion in which ethical life is linked to knowing the causes (often explained through karma, time, and ultimate reality) that govern worldly existence.
In the post-war instruction setting of Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking clarity and peace, asks for a comprehensive explanation of the world’s nature: the movement of beings through birth and death and the mechanisms behind cosmic creation and destruction. This question invites the teacher’s discourse on metaphysical causes and moral order.