Shloka 3
Strī-satkāra (On honoring women) — Mahābhārata 13.46
विपुल उवाच ब्रह्मर्षे मिथुनं कि तत् के च ते पुरुषा विभो । ये मां जानन्ति तत्त्वेन यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि
vipula uvāca brahmarṣe mithunaṁ ki tat ke ca te puruṣā vibho | ye māṁ jānanti tattvena yan māṁ tvaṁ paripṛcchasi ||
Vipula thưa: “Bạch bậc brahmarṣi, đôi nam nữ mà con đã thấy là ai? Và sáu người đàn ông kia là ai, hỡi bậc hùng lực—những kẻ thật sự biết rõ con, về họ mà thầy cũng đang hỏi con?”
विपुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds truthful inquiry (tattvena jñāna): ethical understanding begins with precise questioning about what one has seen and about the identities and roles of those involved.
Vipula responds to a sage’s questioning by asking for clarification: he wants to know who the couple he saw were and who the six men were—figures said to know him truly—since the sage is also inquiring about them.