Shloka 72

Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

सन: सनत्सुजातश्चव सनक: ससनन्दन: । सनत्कुमार: कपिल: सप्तमश्न॒ सनातन:,“सन, सनत्सुजात, सनक, सनन्दन, सनत्कुमार, कपिल तथा सातवें सनातन--ये सात ऋषि भी ब्रह्माके मानस पुत्र कहे गये हैं। इन्हें स्वयं विज्ञान प्राप्त है और ये निवृत्तिधर्ममें स्थित हैं

Transliteration

sanaḥ sanatsujātaś caiva sanakaḥ sasanandanaḥ | sanatkumāraḥ kapilaḥ saptamaś ca sanātanaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Sana, Sanatsujāta, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, Kapila und als siebter Sanātana — diese sieben Weisen werden als geistgeborene Söhne Brahmās bezeichnet. Sie sind im unmittelbaren geistigen Wissen gegründet und verweilen auf dem Pfad der Entsagung (nivṛtti).“

Word by Word

सनःSana (a sage)

सनत्सुजातःSanatsujāta (a sage)

चand

सनकःSanaka (a sage)

ससनन्दनःSanandana (a sage)

सनत्कुमारःSanatkumāra (a sage)

कपिलःKapila (a sage)

सप्तमःthe seventh

सनातनःSanātana (a sage)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sana

Sanatsujāta

Sanaka

Sanandana

Sanatkumāra

Kapila

Sanātana

Brahmā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ideal of spiritual authority: sages who are ‘mind-born’ of Brahmā and established in realized knowledge (vijñāna) exemplify nivṛtti-dharma—renunciation and inward turning toward liberation rather than worldly striving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana enumerates seven revered sages—Sana, Sanatsujāta, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, Kapila, and Sanātana—presenting them as Brahmā’s mental progeny and as exemplars of renunciant wisdom within the Śānti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma.