Shloka 52
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
इक्ष्वाकुणा च कथितो व्याप्य लोकानवस्थित: । गमिष्यति क्षयान्ते च पुनर्नारायणं नूप
ikṣvākuṇā ca kathito vyāpya lokān avasthitaḥ | gamiṣyati kṣayānte ca punar nārāyaṇaṃ nūpa ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “He was also spoken of by Ikṣvāku; pervading the worlds, he remains established. And at the end of the dissolution he will depart again to Nārāyaṇa, O king.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames worldly manifestation as temporary: a being (or principle) may pervade and sustain the worlds, yet at cosmic dissolution it returns to Nārāyaṇa. Ethically, it points to the supremacy of the divine source and the impermanence of all created states.
Vaiśampāyana continues a doctrinal narration, citing Ikṣvāku’s account as authority. He states that the described entity abides while pervading the worlds, and at the end of cosmic destruction it goes back again to Nārāyaṇa, addressing the kingly listener.