Shloka 51
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
चक्षुषी सोमसूर्यो ते नासा संध्या पुनः स्मृता । ३० कारस्त्वथ संस्कारो विद्युज्जिह्वा च निर्मिता
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | cakṣuṣī somasūryau te nāsā sandhyā punaḥ smṛtā | ākāras tv atha saṃskāro vidyujjihvā ca nirmitā | somapānavale pitaraḥ te dantāḥ śrutāḥ | goloko brahmalokaś ca tasya mahātmana oṣṭhau |
Kedua matanya adalah Soma (bulan) dan Surya (matahari); hidungnya dikenang sebagai Sandhyā (senja-fajar). Tubuhnya sendiri adalah saṃskāra—pemurnian suci—dan lidahnya dibentuk sebagai kilat. Wahai Raja, para leluhur peminum Soma disebut sebagai giginya; dan bibir sang Mahātmā adalah Goloka dan Brahmaloka.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic-cosmic vision in which the sacred person (or cosmic principle) is not separate from the universe: luminaries, rites, and ancestral orders are integrated into one moral-sacral body. It implies that true refinement (saṃskāra) aligns one’s being with cosmic order and ritual truth.
Vaiśaṃpāyana is describing a majestic, symbolic anatomy—mapping cosmic entities (Moon, Sun), ritual time (Sandhyā), and ancestral beings (Pitṛs) onto bodily features (eyes, nose, tongue, teeth, lips). This is part of a larger Shānti-parvan style exposition that uses grand imagery to communicate metaphysical and ethical order.