Shloka 4
गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः
सप्तर्षयो ऽथ मनवः प्रजानां पतयस् तथा सदाचारस्य वक्तारः कर्तारश् च महीपते
saptarṣayo 'tha manavaḥ prajānāṃ patayas tathā sadācārasya vaktāraḥ kartāraś ca mahīpate
O king, the Seven Sages and the Manus—together with the lords who preside over creatures—are the proclaimers of sadācāra and also its very executors.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya; vocative ‘mahīpate’ reflects the traditional address in the verse-style transmission)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Authority for sadācāra: the Saptarṣis, Manus, and Prajāpatis as promulgators and practitioners sustaining social-cosmic order
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative and world-ordering
Creation Stage: Manvantara
Concept: Dharma is upheld by cosmic and progenitor authorities—Saptarṣis, Manus, and Prajāpatis—whose example grounds sadācāra as part of the universe’s moral administration.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat ethical living as participation in a larger order: align household and civic life with time-tested norms (restraint, generosity, truth) that sustain community and continuity.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord (Nārāyaṇa) governs through appointed cosmic functionaries; dharma is thus a divinely mediated order, not a merely human convention.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
FAQs
They function as dharma-authorities in each manvantara—teaching right conduct and actively establishing it so society and cosmic order remain stable.
By pointing to a hierarchy of guardians—Seven Sages, Manus, and presiding lords of beings—who both articulate and implement sadācāra as the practical form of dharma.
Though not named in this verse, the Vishnu Purana frames these authorities as operating within Vishnu’s supreme governance, making dharma a manifestation of His sustaining power over the world.