Shloka 15
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
वैखानसा: फेनपेभ्यो धर्म त॑ प्रतिपेदिरे । वैखानसे भ्य: सोमस्तु ततः सोडच्तर्दथे पुन:,फेनपोंसे वैखानसोंने उस धर्मको उपलब्ध किया। उनसे सोमने उसे ग्रहण किया। तदनन्तर वह धर्म फिर लुप्त हो गया
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Vaikhānasāḥ Phenapebhyo dharmaṃ taṃ pratipedire | Vaikhānasebhyaḥ Somaḥ tu tataḥ so 'dattārthaṃ punaḥ; tato dharmaḥ punar luptaḥ |
वैखानसाः फेनपेभ्यो धर्मं तं प्रतिपेदिरे । वैखानसेभ्यः सोमस्तु ततः सोऽधोऽन्तर्हितोऽभवत् ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is preserved through disciplined transmission and lived practice within qualified lineages; when custodianship weakens, even sacred ethical knowledge can lapse and become 'lost' again.
Vaiśampāyana recounts a chain of transmission: the Vaikhānasas receive dharma from the Phenapas; Soma then receives it from the Vaikhānasas; afterward, that dharma disappears once more, indicating a recurring cycle of preservation and decline.