Shloka 28
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
वैदेह कं शूद्रमुदाहरन्ति द्विजा महाराज श्रुतोपपन्ना: । अहं हि पश्यामि नरेन्द्र देवं विश्वस्य विष्णुं जगत: प्रधानम्,महाराज विदेहनरेश! वेद-शास्त्रोंके ज्ञानसे सम्पन्न द्विज शूद्रको प्रजापतिके तुल्य बताते हैं (क्योंकि वह परिचर्यद्वारा समस्त प्रजाका पालन करता है); परंतु नरेन्द्र! मैं तो उसे सम्पूर्ण जगतके प्रधान रक्षक भगवान् विष्णुके रूपमें देखता हूँ (क्योंकि पालन कर्म विष्णुका ही है और वह अपने उस कर्मद्वारा पालनकर्ता श्रीहरिकी आराधना करके उन्हींको प्राप्त होता है)
vaideha kaṁ śūdram udāharanti dvijā mahārāja śrutopapannāḥ | ahaṁ hi paśyāmi narendra devaṁ viśvasya viṣṇuṁ jagataḥ pradhānam ||
Parāśara said: “O king of Videha, the learned twice-born, grounded in the authority of sacred learning, describe the Śūdra as comparable to Prajāpati, for through service he sustains and supports the whole community. Yet, O ruler of men, I behold him as the very Viṣṇu of the universe—the foremost guardian of the world—because the work of protection and maintenance is truly Viṣṇu’s own; by performing that sustaining duty, he worships Hari through action and attains Him.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates sustaining service (pālana through paricaryā) as a sacred act: when one supports society through one’s duty, that action itself becomes worship of Viṣṇu/Hari, and the doer is to be regarded with divine dignity rather than social contempt.
Parāśara addresses the Videha king, reporting how learned dvijas traditionally compare the Śūdra to Prajāpati because he supports the people through service; Parāśara then intensifies the valuation by declaring that he sees such a sustainer as Viṣṇu, the world’s foremost protector.