Shloka 28
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
वैदेह कं शूद्रमुदाहरन्ति द्विजा महाराज श्रुतोपपन्ना: । अहं हि पश्यामि नरेन्द्र देवं विश्वस्य विष्णुं जगत: प्रधानम्
vaideha kaṁ śūdram udāharanti dvijā mahārāja śrutopapannāḥ | ahaṁ hi paśyāmi narendra devaṁ viśvasya viṣṇuṁ jagataḥ pradhānam ||
パラーシャラは言った。「おおヴィデーハの王よ。聖なる学知の権威に立つ博識の再生者たちは、シュードラをプラジャーパティに比す。奉仕によって共同体全体を支え養うからである。だが、おお人の支配者よ。私は彼を宇宙のヴィシュヌ——世界の第一の守護者——として見る。護り保つという働きはまさしくヴィシュヌ自身の業であり、その扶持の務めを行うことによって、彼は行為をもってハリを礼拝し、ついには彼に到達するのだ。」
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates sustaining service (pālana through paricaryā) as a sacred act: when one supports society through one’s duty, that action itself becomes worship of Viṣṇu/Hari, and the doer is to be regarded with divine dignity rather than social contempt.
Parāśara addresses the Videha king, reporting how learned dvijas traditionally compare the Śūdra to Prajāpati because he supports the people through service; Parāśara then intensifies the valuation by declaring that he sees such a sustainer as Viṣṇu, the world’s foremost protector.