Shloka 4
Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः
युधिछिर उवाच अज्ञानस्य प्रवृत्ति च स्थान वृद्धिक्षयोदयौ । मूलं योगं गतिं कालं॑ कारणं हेतुमेव च
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ajñānasya pravṛttiṁ ca sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣayodayau | mūlaṁ yogaṁ gatiṁ kālaṁ kāraṇaṁ hetum eva ca ||
由提施提罗说：“噢，大王，请为我讲述无明——它的生起与作用、它的住持之相、它的增长与衰减、以及它的显现；并请说明它的根本、其相应与系属（瑜伽）、其行程与趋向（趣、gati）、时间所起的作用，以及究竟何者为其因、何者为其近因与动机。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a systematic ethical-philosophical inquiry: ignorance is not treated vaguely but analyzed through its lifecycle (arising, persistence, growth, decline) and through causal categories (root, connection, course, time, cause, motive). This prepares for a dharma-centered explanation of how delusion forms and how it can be understood and overcome.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira questions a royal-sage authority (addressed as ‘O king’) and asks for a detailed account of ajñāna—how it begins, how it operates in life, what sustains it, and what factors (including time and causation) govern it.