Shloka 9
Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry
Mahābhārata 12.347
वेदश्रुति: प्रणष्टा च पुनरध्यापिता सुतै: । ततस्ते मन्त्रदा: पुत्रा: पितृत्वमुपपेदिरे
vedaśrutiḥ praṇaṣṭā ca punaradhyāpitā sutaiḥ | tataste mantradāḥ putrāḥ pitṛtvamupapedirē ||
Nārada said: The sacred Vedic tradition—heard and handed down—had been lost, and then it was taught again by their own sons. Therefore those sons, who became givers of mantras, came to assume the role of fathers, for they restored to their elders the very knowledge by which spiritual authority is sustained.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual authority is grounded in preserving and transmitting sacred knowledge; when sons restore lost Vedic learning to their elders, they earn a father-like status because they become the source of that sustaining wisdom.
Narada describes a situation where Vedic śruti had been forgotten; the sons re-taught it, and by becoming the bestowers of mantras they effectively assumed the role of fathers toward those they instructed.