Shloka 15
Adhyāya 270 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on saṃnyāsa; Bhīṣma on calculable time, tamas, and karma
Vṛtra–Uśanā exemplum begins
मणिभद्रं स तत्रस्थं देवतानां महाद्युतिम् । अपश्यत महात्मानं व्यादिशन्तं युधिष्ठिर
maṇibhadraṁ sa tatrasthaṁ devatānāṁ mahādyutim | apaśyata mahātmānaṁ vyādiśantaṁ yudhiṣṭhira ||
Hỡi Yudhiṣṭhira! Tại đó, ông thấy Maṇibhadra—bậc đại quang minh giữa hàng thần chúng—vị Yakṣa vương cao cả, ngự tại chỗ ấy; và thấy ngài phân định, sai khiến các kẻ cầu xin khác nhau đến trình diện trước chư thiên.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the idea of ordered governance even in divine realms: requests and rewards are not random but are administered through discernment and authority. Ethically, it implies that outcomes are regulated by a moral-cosmic system where merit, propriety, and right procedure matter.
A figure (as described by Bhīṣma) sees the Yakṣa-lord Maṇibhadra present among the gods, actively directing or assigning various petitioners—organizing who is to be presented and how their requests are to be handled before the divine assembly.