Shloka 66

बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account

On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics

Devanagari script

विष्णुर्मरीचये प्रादान्मरीचिर्भगवानपि

Transliteration

viṣṇur marīcaye prādān marīcir bhagavān api

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Viṣṇu đã ban (giáo huấn này) cho Marīci; và Marīci, bậc hiền thánh đáng tôn kính, lại truyền trao tiếp. Câu ấy nêu rõ uy quyền đạo lý của lời dạy bằng cách lần theo dòng truyền thừa qua những bậc khả kính.”

Word by Word

• विष्णुः: Vishnu
• विष्णुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मरीचये: to Marichi
• मरीचये: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरीचि
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• प्रादात्: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (दाने)
• Form: Aorist (Luṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मरीचिः: Marichi
• मरीचिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरीचि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भगवान्: the blessed/lordly one
• भगवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Marīci
• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That dharma and sacred knowledge gain weight and reliability when shown to descend through an honored lineage (paramparā)—from a supreme divine source (Viṣṇu) to an ancient seer (Marīci) and onward—signaling continuity, authenticity, and responsibility in transmission.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is recounting a chain of transmission: Viṣṇu imparted a teaching (or principle) to the sage Marīci, and Marīci, himself revered, then passed it forward. The verse functions as a link in a longer genealogy of instruction within Śānti Parva’s discourse on dharma.