Shloka 43

Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon

Devanagari script

कुक्षिनाम्ने स प्रददौ दिशां पालाय धर्मिणे | ततोअप्यन्तर्दधे भूयो नारायणमुखोद्भव:,वीरणने इसका अध्ययन करके रैभ्यमुनिको उपदेश दिया। रैभ्यने उत्तम व्रतका पालन करनेवाले श्रेष्ठ बुद्धिसे युक्त धर्मात्मा एवं शुद्ध आचार-विचारवाले अपने पुत्र दिक्पाल कुक्षिको इसका उपदेश दिया। तदनन्तर नारायणके मुखसे निकला हुआ यह सात्वत धर्म फिर लुप्त हो गया

Transliteration

kukṣināmne sa pradadau diśāṃ pālāya dharmiṇe | tato 'py antardadhe bhūyo nārāyaṇamukhodbhavaḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അവൻ ഈ ഉപദേശം ‘കുക്ഷി’ എന്ന നാമമുള്ള ദിക്കുകളുടെ ധാർമ്മിക പാലകനു നൽകി. എന്നിരുന്നാലും നാരായണന്റെ മുഖോദ്ഭവമായ ഈ സാത്വത-ധർമ്മം വീണ്ടും അപ്രത്യക്ഷമായി.

Word by Word

कुक्षिनाम्नेto (the one) named Kukṣi

सःhe

प्रददौgave, bestowed

दिशाम्the directions (quarters)

पालायto the guardian/protector

धर्मिणेto the righteous one

ततःthen, thereafter

अपिalso, even

अन्तर्दधेdisappeared, became hidden

भूयःagain, once more

नारायणमुखोद्भवःborn from Nārāyaṇa’s mouth

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kukṣi (dikpāla / guardian of the directions)

Nārāyaṇa

Sātvata-dharma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred dharma-teachings endure only through proper transmission to qualified, righteous custodians; when that chain weakens, even a revelation originating from Nārāyaṇa can become ‘hidden’ (antardadhe), i.e., lost from common practice and memory.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker reports a handover of the Sātvata dharma to a dikpāla named Kukṣi, and then notes that the teaching again disappeared—signaling a recurring cycle of revelation, transmission, and decline within the world.