Shloka 14

Nārada’s Darśana of Viśvarūpa Nārāyaṇa and the Caturmūrti Doctrine (नारदस्य नारायणदर्शनं चतुर्मूर्तिविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

जनक उवाच यत्‌ कार्य ब्राह्मणेनेह जन्मप्रभृति तच्छृणु । कृतोपनयनस्तात भवेद्‌ वेदपरायण:,जनकने कहा--तात! ब्राह्मणको जन्मसे लेकर जो-जो कर्म करने चाहिये, उनको सुनिये--यज्ञोपवीत संस्कार हो जानेके बाद ब्राह्मण-बालकको वेदाध्ययनमें तत्पर होना चाहिये

Transliteration

janaka uvāca yat kāryaṃ brāhmaṇeneha janma-prabhṛti tac chṛṇu | kṛtopanayanaḥ tāta bhaved veda-parāyaṇaḥ ||

Translation

Janaka sprach: „Höre, lieber Sohn, die Pflichten, die ein Brāhmaṇa hier von der Geburt an auf sich nehmen soll. Ist das Upanayana (die Initiation mit der heiligen Schnur) vollzogen, so soll sich der junge Brāhmaṇa mit ganzem Herzen dem Studium und der Rezitation des Veda widmen.“

Word by Word

जनकःJanaka

उवाचsaid

यत्what/that which

कार्यम्duty; what is to be done

ब्राह्मणेनby a Brahmin

इहhere; in this world

जन्मप्रभृतिfrom birth onwards

तत्that

शृणुhear; listen

कृतोपनयनःhaving had the upanayana performed

तातdear son

भवेत्should be; should become

वेदपरायणःdevoted to the Veda; intent on Vedic study

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janaka

Brāhmaṇa

Upanayana

Veda

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A brāhmaṇa’s foundational dharma is disciplined learning: after upanayana, he should commit himself to Vedic study and recitation as a primary life-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka is instructing a listener (addressed affectionately as ‘tāta’) about the prescribed duties of a brāhmaṇa, emphasizing the transition after initiation into a life oriented toward the Veda.