Shloka 27
एकान्तिधर्म-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into Ekāntin Dharma) / The Origin and Practice of Single-Pointed Nārāyaṇa-Centered Discipline
ये हि ते ऋषय: ख्याता: सप्त चित्रशिखण्डिन:
ye hi te ṛṣayaḥ khyātāḥ sapta citraśikhaṇḍinaḥ—marīciḥ atriḥ aṅgirāḥ pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ ca mahātejā vasiṣṭhaḥ; te merau mahāgirau ekamatāḥ san yat śāstram uttamaṃ pravavocuḥ nirmame ca, tad caturṇāṃ vedānāṃ samam ādaraṇīyaṃ pramāṇabhūtaṃ; tatra saptamukhaiḥ prādurbhūtaḥ lokadharmaḥ suvyākhyātaḥ.
Bhishma sprach: „Die sieben berühmten Weisen, die man Citraśikhaṇḍins nennt, sind Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu und der strahlende Vasiṣṭha. Einmütig auf dem großen Berge Meru vereint, verkündeten und verfassten sie eine vortreffliche Lehrschrift—verehrungswürdig und als maßgebend anerkannt, den vier Veden ebenbürtig. Darin wurde der edle Dharma der Welt klar dargelegt, als spräche er aus sieben Mündern.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That a dharma-teaching (śāstra) established by unanimously revered sages can function as a reliable authority—comparable in reverence and evidentiary force to the Vedas—especially when it clearly expounds lokadharma, the ethical-social order sustaining the world.
Bhishma identifies seven famous sages called the Citraśikhaṇḍins and describes how, gathered together on Mount Meru, they jointly proclaimed and composed an excellent treatise. He emphasizes its Veda-like authority and notes that it presents a lucid exposition of lokadharma, metaphorically emerging through seven mouths.