Shloka 35
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
ब्रह्म! उसीने लोकको उन्नतिके पथपर ले जानेवाली यह धर्मकी मार्यादा स्थापित की है। देवताओं और पितरोंकी पूजा करनी चाहिये, यह उसीकी आज्ञा है ।।
nārada uvāca | brahman! sa eva lokān unnati-pathaṁ netuṁ dharma-maryādām etāṁ pratiṣṭhāpitavān | devatā-pitṛ-pūjā kartavyā—iti tasyaivājñā || brahmā sthāṇur manur dakṣo bhṛgur dharmas tapo yamaḥ | marīcir aṅgirā atriś ca pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ | vasiṣṭhaḥ parameṣṭhī sūryaś candramāḥ kardamaḥ krodho vikṛtaś ca—ete ekaviṁśatiḥ prajāpātayaḥ tasmin paramātmani sambhūtāḥ proktāḥ; te ca tasyaiva sanātana-dharma-maryādāṁ pālayanti pūjayanti ca ||
Narada said: “O Brahman! He alone has established this boundary and order of Dharma that leads the worlds along the path of uplift. The worship of the gods and the ancestors (pitṛs) must be performed—this is His command. Brahmā, Sthāṇu (Śiva), Manu, Dakṣa, Bhṛgu, Dharma, Tapas, Yama, Marīci, Aṅgiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Vasiṣṭha, Parameṣṭhī, the Sun, the Moon, Kardama, Krodha, and Vikṛta—these twenty-one Prajāpatis are said to have arisen from that Supreme Self; and they uphold and worship His eternal ordinance of Dharma.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not arbitrary: it is an established, divinely grounded moral order meant to uplift the worlds. Worship of gods and ancestors is presented as a binding injunction within that order, and even the cosmic progenitors (Prajāpatis) are portrayed as upholding and honoring this eternal Dharma.
Nārada is instructing a Brahman interlocutor, explaining that the Supreme Being instituted the norms of Dharma and commanded the worship of deities and ancestors. He then enumerates twenty-one Prajāpatis—cosmic progenitors—said to be born from the Supreme Self, who themselves maintain and worship that eternal Dharma-ordinance.