Shloka 28
आचारसम्भवो धर्मों धर्मे वेदा: प्रतिष्ठिता: । वेदैर्यज्ञा: समुत्पन्ना यज्जैर्देवा: प्रतिष्ठिता:,आचारसे धर्मकी उत्पत्ति होती है। धर्ममें वेदोंकी प्रतिष्ठा है। वेदोंसे यज्ञ प्रकट हुए हैं और यज्ञोंसे देवताओंकी स्थिति है
ācāra-sambhavo dharmo dharme vedāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ | vedair yajñāḥ samutpannā yajñair devāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Dharma arises from right conduct (ācāra). The Vedas are established within dharma; from the Vedas arise the sacrificial rites, and through sacrifice the gods themselves are sustained and remain in their ordained station. Thus, ethical practice, sacred knowledge, ritual action, and cosmic order are shown as a single interdependent chain.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a hierarchy of support: proper conduct (ācāra) generates and preserves dharma; dharma is the ground in which the Vedas stand; the Vedas generate yajña (sacrificial/ritual action); and yajña sustains the devas, i.e., the cosmic powers that uphold order. Ethical life is therefore not separate from sacred knowledge and ritual—it is their foundation.
Vaiśaṃpāyana is explaining principles of dharma by tracing how social and cosmic stability depend on a chain from human conduct to Vedic authority, from Vedic injunctions to sacrifice, and from sacrifice to the maintenance of the gods’ ordained functions.