Shloka 16
निरय-परमस्थान-वर्णनम्
Niraya and the Supreme Station: A Metaphysical Re-reading
इत्येतल्लोकनिर्माणं ब्रह्मणा विहितं पुरा । प्रजा: समनुवर्तन्ते स्वै: स्वै:ः कर्मभिरावृता:
ity etal loka-nirmāṇaṃ brahmaṇā vihitaṃ purā | prajāḥ samanuvartante svaiḥ svaiḥ karmabhir āvṛtāḥ |
婆罗多婆阇说道：“因此，在远古之时，梵天（Brahmā）制定并安立了诸世界的秩序与形成。众生各为自业所覆，遂随其业而行，经历乐与苦。”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms a moral-cosmic order: Brahmā established the structure of the world, and within it beings experience pleasure and pain in accordance with their own karma; actions condition and ‘cover’ beings, shaping their lived outcomes.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bharadvāja summarizes a teaching on creation and the functioning of the world: the cosmos is divinely instituted, and the multitude of beings move within it driven and conditioned by their individual deeds.