Shloka 4
Guru’s Instruction on Dream, Mind, Guṇas, and Knowing Brahman
Svapna–Manas–Guṇa–Brahma-vicāra
भीष्म उवाच पुराहं मृगयां यातो मार्कण्डेयाश्रमे स्थित: । तत्रापश्यं मुनिगणान् समासीनान् सहस्रश:
bhīṣma uvāca purāhaṁ mṛgayāṁ yāto mārkaṇḍeyāśrame sthitaḥ | tatrāpaśyaṁ munigaṇān samāsīnān sahasraśaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，久远以前，我曾出外狩猎，寄宿于圣者摩尔甘德耶的隐修院。在那里，我见到成千上万的仙人同坐一处。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets an ethical-narrative frame: a warrior-elder (Bhishma) recalls encountering a vast assembly of sages at a renowned hermitage, signaling that the forthcoming instruction is grounded in ascetic authority and dharma rather than mere royal power.
Bhishma begins a recollection addressed to the king: during a past hunting excursion he stayed at Markandeya’s hermitage and witnessed thousands of sages seated there, introducing the setting for the discourse that follows.