Shloka 303
आरण्यकेन सहितं नारायणमुखोद्भवम् । तदनन्तर ब्रह्माने भगवान् श्रीहरिको नमस्कार किया और उन्हीं नारायणदेवके मुखसे प्रकट आरण्यक, रहस्य तथा संग्रहसहित उस श्रेष्ठ धर्मका उपदेश ग्रहण किया
āraṇyakena sahitaṃ nārāyaṇamukhodbhavam | tadanantaraṃ brahmāṇe bhagavān śrīharir ko namaskāraṃ kṛtvā tasyaiva nārāyaṇadevasya mukhāt prakaṭam āraṇyaka-rahasya-saṃgraha-sahitaṃ taṃ śreṣṭhaṃ dharmopadeśaṃ jagrāha |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Together with the Āraṇyaka portion, and originating from the mouth of Nārāyaṇa, that teaching was received thereafter. Then the blessed Śrī Hari bowed in reverence to Brahmā and accepted from the very mouth of Lord Nārāyaṇa the excellent instruction on dharma—complete with the Āraṇyaka, the esoteric ‘secret’ teachings, and the compendium.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the sanctity and authority of dharma-teaching as a revealed transmission: the ‘best dharma’ is received as a complete body of instruction (including Āraṇyaka material, esoteric rahasya, and a systematic compendium), and it is approached with reverence (namaskāra), underscoring humility before sacred knowledge.
Vaiśampāyana narrates a chain of transmission: after the revelation associated with Nārāyaṇa’s speech, Śrī Hari offers salutations to Brahmā and then receives/accepts the superior dharma-instruction that is explicitly said to have manifested from Lord Nārāyaṇa’s mouth, complete with its ancillary and secret sections.