Shloka 53
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
इक्ष्वाकुके उपदेशसे इस सात्वत धर्मका सम्पूर्ण जगतमें प्रचार और प्रसार हो गया। नरेश्वर! कल्पान्तमें यह धर्म फिर भगवान् नारायणको ही प्राप्त हो जायगा ।। यतीनां चापि यो धर्म: स ते पूर्व नृपोत्तम | कथितो हरिगीतासु समासविधिकल्पित:,नृपश्रेष्ठट यतियोंका जो धर्म है, वह मैंने पहले ही तुम्हें हरिगीतामें संक्षेप शैलीसे बता दिया है
Vaishampāyana uvāca | Ikṣvāku-ke upadeśa se asya Sātvata-dharmasya sampūrṇa-jagate pracāraḥ prasāraś ca abhavat | Nareśvara! kalpānte ayaṃ dharmaḥ punaḥ Bhagavantaṃ Nārāyaṇam eva prāpsyati || Yatīnāṃ cāpi yo dharmaḥ sa te pūrvaṃ nṛpottama kathito Hari-gītāsu samāsa-vidhi-kalpitaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Through Ikṣvāku’s instruction, this Sātvata dharma came to be widely proclaimed and spread throughout the whole world. O king, at the end of the cosmic age this dharma will return again to Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa alone. And as for the discipline of renunciants, O best of kings, I have already explained it to you earlier in the ‘Songs of Hari’, set forth in a concise method.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that a sacred ethical-devotional tradition (Sātvata dharma) spreads through authoritative instruction, yet ultimately belongs to and returns to Nārāyaṇa at the end of cosmic time; it also points to a previously given concise teaching on the renunciants’ code (yati-dharma).
Vaiśampāyana, continuing his narration to the king, notes the historical dissemination of Sātvata dharma from Ikṣvāku’s teaching and reminds the listener that he has already summarized the discipline of ascetics in an earlier ‘Hari-gītā’ section.