Shloka 54
एकान्तिधर्म-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into Ekāntin Dharma) / The Origin and Practice of Single-Pointed Nārāyaṇa-Centered Discipline
उत्पन्ने5ड्विरसे चैव युगे प्रथमकल्पिते । साज़्रोपनिषदं शास्त्र स्थापयित्वा बृहस्पती
utpanne ’dvirase caiva yuge prathama-kalpite | sāṅgropaniṣadaṃ śāstraṃ sthāpayitvā bṛhaspatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: In the earliest age, when the first ordering of the yuga had come into being, Bṛhaspati established the authoritative teaching—complete with its auxiliaries and the Upaniṣads—so that sacred knowledge might stand on firm foundations. By this, the norms of dharma could be propagated and the worlds held within the bounds of moral order.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is sustained by properly established śāstra—sacred instruction grounded in the Vedic tradition (with its auxiliaries and Upaniṣadic insight). When authoritative knowledge is set in place, moral order can be taught and society (the worlds) can be kept within ethical boundaries.
Bhīṣma describes an early cosmic period in which Bṛhaspati functions as a primordial teacher: he establishes and transmits a comprehensive body of sacred teaching (śāstra) connected with the Upaniṣads and supporting disciplines, enabling the later spread and stabilization of dharma.