Shloka 3
Brāhmaṇa-pūjā and Namaskāra: Criteria of Reverence and Non-Offense (ब्राह्मणपूजा-नमस्कारविधिः)
के च स्मृता: प्रतीघाता येन मर्त्यान् न हिंसथ । रक्षोघ्नानि च कानि स्पुर्यर्गुहिषु प्रणश्यथ । श्रोतुमिच्छाम युष्माकं सर्वमेतन्निशाचरा:
ke ca smṛtāḥ pratīghātā yena martyān na hiṃsatha | rakṣoghnāni ca kāni spuryar-guhīṣu praṇaśyatha | śrotum icchāma yuṣmākaṃ sarvam etan niśācarāḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“有哪些传承所记的对治之法，使你们不加害于人？又有哪些灭罗刹之咒（rakṣo‑ghna），一经诵出，便能令你们在屋内当场灭亡——或仓皇遁逃？夜行者啊，我们愿从你们口中听闻这一切。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry into restraint and protection: it asks what traditional safeguards prevent harm to humans and what protective formulas can neutralize violent forces. It implies that power (even supernatural) is bounded by dharma and can be checked by righteous means.
Bhīṣma addresses night-roaming beings (rākṣasas), questioning them about the countermeasures that stop their attacks on humans and about the specific ‘rakṣoghnā’ mantras that would cause them to be destroyed or driven away from homes, seeking to learn these details directly from them.