Shloka 16
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
सदेवासुरगन्धर्वा: सकिन्नरमहोरगा: । जब वहाँ भगवान् नर और नारायणके नित्यकर्मका समय हुआ, उसी समय नारदजीके मनमें उनके दर्शनके लिये बड़ी उत्कण्ठा हुई। वे सोचने लगे, “अहो! यह उन्हीं भगवान्का स्थान है, जिनके भीतर देवता, असुर, गन्धर्व, किन्नर और महान् नागोंसहित सम्पूर्ण लोक निवास करते हैं ।।
sadevāsuragandharvāḥ sakinnarāmahoragāḥ | yadā tatra bhagavato nara-nārāyaṇayoḥ nityakarmakālaḥ samabhavat tadā nāradasya manasi teṣāṃ darśanāya mahān utkaṇṭhā samajāyata | sa cintayāmāsa—“aho! etad eva teṣāṃ bhagavatāṃ sthānaṃ yatra devāḥ asurāḥ gandharvāḥ kinnarāḥ mahā-uragāś ca samastā lokāś ca antar-niviṣṭāḥ || ekā mūrtir iyaṃ pūrvaṃ jātā bhūyaś caturvidhā | nara-nārāyaṇābhyāṃ ca kṛṣṇena hariṇā tathā ||”
Bhishma said: “Along with the gods, asuras, gandharvas, kinnaras, and mighty serpents—indeed with all worlds contained within them—this is the very abode of those divine beings. When the time arrived for the daily sacred observances of Bhagavan Nara and Narayana, Narada’s heart was seized by an intense longing to behold them. He reflected: ‘Ah! This is that holy station of the Lord in whom all beings and realms reside.’ Formerly there was but one divine form; later, for the expansion of Dharma’s lineage and its sustaining tradition, that single reality manifested in four forms—Nara, Narayana, Krishna, and Hari. By their earned merit and steadfast righteousness, these four have strengthened the continuity of Dharma; thus, they have shown great favor to Dharma in this world.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is sustained not merely by abstract rules but by exemplary divine and sage-like embodiments. The verse frames Nara, Narayana, Krishna, and Hari as a fourfold manifestation that actively strengthens the continuity of Dharma through disciplined practice and merit, showing that righteous order is preserved by lived, enacted righteousness and divine grace.
At the moment when Nara and Narayana begin their daily obligatory observances, Narada becomes intensely eager to see them. He recognizes their abode as the locus in which all beings and worlds are contained, and he reflects on the doctrine that one divine reality manifested into four forms—Nara, Narayana, Krishna, and Hari—for the expansion and protection of Dharma’s tradition.