Shloka 87

Devanagari script

तावेतौ पूर्वदेवानां परमोपचितावृषी । लोकयात्राविधानार्थ संजायेते युगे युगे,ये दोनों ऋषि प्रमुख देवता, ब्रह्मा, विष्णु और रुद्रमेंसे विष्णुस्वरूप हैं और तपस्यामें बहुत बढ़े-चढ़े हैं। ये लोगोंको धर्म-मर्यादामें रखकर उनकी रक्षाके लिये युग-युगमें अवतार ग्रहण करते हैं

Transliteration

tāvetau pūrvadevānāṃ paramopacitāvṛṣī | lokayātrāvidhānārthaṃ sañjāyete yuge yuge ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: “These two are the foremost sages, greatly perfected through austerity, belonging to the ancient divine order. For the sake of establishing the proper course of the world’s life—so that people may be upheld within the bounds of dharma—they are born again and again in every age.”

Word by Word

तौthose two

एतौthese two

पूर्वदेवानाम्of the ancient/primeval gods

परमोपचितौsupremely developed/advanced

ऋषीtwo sages

लोकयात्राविधानार्थम्for the purpose of arranging the course/order of worldly life

संजायेतेare born / come into being

युगेin (each) age

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

two sages (unnamed in this verse)

pūrvadevāḥ (ancient gods)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That extraordinary sages, perfected by tapas, manifest repeatedly across ages to uphold lokayātrā—the orderly functioning of society—by establishing and protecting dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa identifies “these two” as exalted sages connected with the ancient divine order and explains their recurring births in successive yugas for the purpose of regulating and safeguarding the world’s moral and social order.