Shloka 14
तेन धर्मेण कृतवान् दैवं पित्र्यं च भारत । फेनपा ऋषयश्जैव तं धर्म प्रतिपेदिरे,भूपाल! सृष्टिके आदिमें जब भगवान् नारायणके मुखसे ब्रह्माजीका मानसिक जन्म हुआ था, उस समय साक्षात् नारायणने उन्हें इस धर्मका उपदेश किया था। भरतनन्दन! नारायणने उस धर्मसे देवताओं और पितरोंका पूजनादि कर्म किया था। फिर फेनप ऋषियोंने उस धर्मको ग्रहण किया
tena dharmeṇa kṛtavān daivaṃ pitryaṃ ca bhārata | phenapā ṛṣayaś caiva taṃ dharmaṃ pratipedire ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Bhārata, by that very dharma Nārāyaṇa performed the rites of worship and offerings due to the gods and to the ancestors. And the sages called the Phenapās likewise adopted and upheld that dharma. Thus this teaching is presented as an ancient, authoritative rule of right conduct—practiced first by the divine and then received by the seers.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
That dharma is validated by exemplary practice: Nārāyaṇa himself performs the obligations toward gods (daiva) and ancestors (pitrya) through it, and the Phenapā sages accept it. The ethical point is that right conduct includes honoring cosmic and ancestral obligations, and that a dharma gains authority through divine and seerly transmission.
Vaiśaṃpāyana is describing the pedigree of a particular dharma: it was practiced by Nārāyaṇa in performing divine and ancestral rites, and later adopted by the Phenapā ṛṣis. The verse functions as a credentialing statement—linking the teaching to ancient, revered exemplars.