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 ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच— यदा भूयः श्रवणजा सृष्टिरासीन्महात्मनः। ब्रह्मणः पुरुषव्याघ्र तत्र कीर्तयतः शृणु॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
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).