Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
ब्रह्माजी बोले--महान् भाग्यशाली सप्तर्षियो! तुम लोगोंने परम शुभकारक, गूढ़ अर्थसे युक्त, सूक्ष्म एवं मनुष्योंके लिये कल्याणकारी प्रश्न सामने रखा है ।।
Brahmājī uvāca—mahān bhāgyāśālinaḥ saptarṣayaḥ! yūyaṁ paramāśubhakārakaṁ gūḍhārthayuktaṁ sūkṣmaṁ ca manuṣyāṇāṁ hitakaraṁ praśnaṁ puraskṛtavantaḥ. śrūyatāṁ sarvam ākhyāsyāmi vaḥ akhilena, tapodhanāḥ, yathā yajñaphalaṁ martyo labhate, nātra saṁśayaḥ.
梵天说道:“噢,福德具足的七圣仙!你们向我提出了一个至为吉祥、义理深奥、微妙精细、且有益于人类的疑问。且听我说:我将为你们详尽宣说,噢,苦行功德丰厚者——凡人如何获得祭祀(yajña)之果报;对此毫无疑惑。”
भीष्म उवाच
The verse frames a dharmic instruction: profound, subtle questions about how humans obtain the fruits of yajña are worthy and auspicious, and Brahmā affirms that he will explain the principle fully and with certainty—emphasizing the reliability of dharma-teaching and the moral-spiritual causality behind sacrificial merit.
Bhīṣma recounts a discourse in which Brahmā addresses the Seven Sages. He praises their question as beneficial for humanity and announces that he will now describe, without omission, how a mortal gains the results of sacrifice.