Shloka 72

Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

सन: सनत्सुजातश्चव सनक: ससनन्दन: । सनत्कुमार: कपिल: सप्तमश्न॒ सनातन:

Transliteration

sanaḥ sanatsujātaś caiva sanakaḥ sasanandanaḥ | sanatkumāraḥ kapilaḥ saptamaś ca sanātanaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Sana, Sanatsujāta, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, Kapila, and as the seventh, Sanātana—these seven sages are spoken of as mind-born sons of Brahmā. They are established in direct spiritual knowledge and abide in the path of renunciation.”

Word by Word

• सनः: Sana (a sage)
• सनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सनत्सुजातः: Sanatsujāta (a sage)
• सनत्सुजातः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनत्सुजात
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सनकः: Sanaka (a sage)
• सनकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ससनन्दनः: Sanandana (a sage)
• ससनन्दनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सनत्कुमारः: Sanatkumāra (a sage)
• सनत्कुमारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनत्कुमार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कपिलः: Kapila (a sage)
• कपिलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सप्तमः: the seventh
• सप्तमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सनातनः: Sanātana (a sage)
• सनातनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनातन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Sana
• Sanatsujāta
• Sanaka
• Sanandana
• Sanatkumāra
• Kapila
• Sanātana
• Brahmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ideal of spiritual authority: sages who are ‘mind-born’ of Brahmā and established in realized knowledge (vijñāna) exemplify nivṛtti-dharma—renunciation and inward turning toward liberation rather than worldly striving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana enumerates seven revered sages—Sana, Sanatsujāta, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, Kapila, and Sanātana—presenting them as Brahmā’s mental progeny and as exemplars of renunciant wisdom within the Śānti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma.