Shloka 25
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
यदा भूय: श्रवणजा सृष्टिरासीन्महात्मन: । ब्रह्मण: पुरुषव्यात्र तत्र कीर्तयत: शूणु
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yadā bhūyaḥ śravaṇajā sṛṣṭir āsīn mahātmanaḥ |
brahmaṇaḥ puruṣavyāghra tatra kīrtayataḥ śṛṇu puruṣasiṃha ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai harimau di antara manusia, wahai wira laksana singa, dengarlah. Apabila sekali lagi terbit ciptaan yang lahir daripada pendengaran—ketika Brahmā yang agung muncul untuk kali keempat—maka bagaimana tatanan suci (dharma) itu menzahirkan diri pada saat itu akan aku kisahkan kepadamu; dengarlah.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is presented as something that manifests within cosmic cycles and is preserved through listening and transmission; the narrator emphasizes attentive hearing as the gateway to understanding the origin and authority of dharma.
Vaiśampāyana signals a new explanatory section: he will describe how dharma arose at a particular cosmic moment—when Brahmā’s creation, described as ‘born of hearing,’ occurred again (specified here as the fourth time).