Shloka 9

Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)

Devanagari script

असाध्व्यस्तु समुत्पन्ना: कृत्या: सर्गात्‌ प्रजापते: । ताभ्य: कामान्‌ यथाकामं प्रादाद्धि स पितामह:

Transliteration

asādhvyaḥ tu samutpannāḥ kṛtyāḥ sargāt prajāpateḥ | tābhyaḥ kāmān yathākāmaṃ prādād dhi sa pitāmahaḥ, kuntīnandana |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Nhưng những người đàn bà bất chính—thuộc loại ‘kṛtyā’—đã sinh ra từ cuộc tạo dựng về sau của Prajāpati. Và vị Tổ Phụ ấy (Prajāpati) quả đã ban cho họ những thôi thúc của dục vọng đúng theo điều họ mong muốn, hỡi con của Kuntī.”

Word by Word

• {'asādhvyaḥ': 'unrighteous, not virtuous (feminine plural)', 'tu': 'but, however', 'samutpannāḥ': 'arisen, originated', 'kṛtyāḥ': 'women of harmful/inauspicious nature

• ‘kṛtyā’ also denotes a malevolent rite/entity (here used as a type/label)', 'sargāt': 'from creation, from the act/process of creating', 'prajāpateḥ': 'of Prajāpati (the Lord of creatures, progenitor)', 'tābhyaḥ': 'to them (dative plural feminine)', 'kāmān': 'desires, impulses of passion', 'yathākāmam': 'according to one’s wish

• as desired', 'prādāt': 'gave, granted', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'sa': 'he', 'pitāmahaḥ': 'the Grandfather

• an epithet of the progenitor (here Prajāpati)', 'kuntīnandana': 'O son of Kuntī (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Prajāpati
• Pitāmaha (epithet of Prajāpati here)
• Kuntīnandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames moral conduct as linked to cosmic origins: it contrasts an ideal of virtuous marital fidelity with a later emergence of ‘unrighteous’ tendencies, attributing desire (kāma) to a specific creative dispensation by Prajāpati. Ethically, it reflects the text’s attempt to explain social/moral disorder through a creation narrative.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as Kuntīnandana), explains that certain harmful or unrighteous women (called kṛtyāḥ) arose from Prajāpati’s creation, and that Prajāpati granted them desire according to their inclinations—continuing a broader discourse on conduct and social norms.