यत्र पूर्वाभिसर्गे वै धर्मचक्रं प्रवर्तितम् । नैमिषे गोमतीतीरे तत्र नागाह्नयं पुरम्
yatra pūrvābhisarge vai dharmacakraṁ pravartitam | naimiṣe gomatītīre tatra nāgāhnayaṁ puram, dvijaśreṣṭha |
ಓ ದ್ವಿಜಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನೇ! ಪೂರ್ವಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಧರ್ಮಚಕ್ರವು ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿಯಾದ ನೈಮಿಷದಲ್ಲಿ, ಗೋಮತೀತೀರದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ನಾಗಾಹ್ನಯ’ ಎಂಬ ಪುರವಿದೆ।
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Dharma is presented as an instituted, living order—‘the wheel’ set in motion in primordial times. By locating the teaching in a renowned tīrtha-region (Naimiṣa on the Gomati), the text implies that ethical instruction gains weight when rooted in remembered sites of ancient dharmic establishment and ritual authority.
A Brahmin speaker identifies a specific sacred location: on the Gomati at Naimiṣa there is a city named Nāgāhnaya, famed as a place where, in an earlier cosmic cycle, dharma was inaugurated. This functions as a scene-setting prelude for the discourse that follows.