Shloka 34
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
तेनैषा प्रथिता ब्रह्म॒न् मर्यादा लोकभाविनी । दैवं पित्रयं च कर्तव्यमिति तस्यानुशासनम्
tenaiṣā prathitā brahman maryādā lokabhāvinī | daivaṁ pitryaṁ ca kartavyam iti tasyānuśāsanam ||
Thus, O Brahmin, this well-known boundary of right conduct—one that sustains the order of the world—was established: that the rites owed to the gods and the rites owed to the ancestors (pitṛs) must be performed. Such was his injunction.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that maintaining worldly order (maryādā) depends on fulfilling obligatory duties—specifically, performing rites owed to the gods (daiva) and to the ancestors (pitrya).
Nārada, addressing a Brahmin interlocutor, summarizes an authoritative injunction that established a recognized norm of conduct: one must carry out both divine and ancestral obligations.