Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 4
Varṇāśrama-dharma as a Path to Bhakti
Yuga-dharma Origins, Universal Virtues, Brahmacarya and Gṛhastha Duties
पुरा किल महाबाहो धर्मं परमकं प्रभो । यत्तेन हंसरूपेण ब्रह्मणेऽभ्यात्थ माधव ॥ ३ ॥ स इदानीं सुमहता कालेनामित्रकर्शन । न प्रायो भविता मर्त्यलोके प्रागनुशासित: ॥ ४ ॥
purā kila mahā-bāho dharmaṁ paramakaṁ prabho yat tena haṁsa-rūpeṇa brahmaṇe ’bhyāttha mādhava
Uddhava said: O mighty-armed Lord, formerly, in Your Haṁsa form, You spoke to Brahmā that supreme dharma which grants the practitioner the highest happiness. O Mādhava, now a vast time has passed, and thus what You previously taught will almost cease to exist in the mortal world, O subduer of the enemy.
FAQs
This verse states that although the Lord once taught the highest dharma to Brahmā, with the passing of great time that teaching is scarcely found in the mortal world—indicating dharma’s gradual obscuration in later ages.
Uddhava recalls an ancient, authoritative revelation—Kṛṣṇa as Haṁsa instructing Brahmā—to emphasize that true dharma originates from the Lord, and to request that Kṛṣṇa restate it now because it has become rare on earth.
Take shelter of śāstra and the Lord’s teachings as preserved in Bhāgavata wisdom—seeking clarity through genuine guru-sādhu-śāstra—since time can obscure dharma’s original form.