Shloka 393

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

Devanagari script

तज्जगादारविन्दाक्षो ब्रह्मण: पश्यतस्तदा । नृपश्रेष्ठ! फिर पूर्वकालमें ब्रह्माजीने नासिकाके द्वारा जब पाँचवाँ जन्म ग्रहण किया

Transliteration

tajjagādāravindākṣo brahmaṇaḥ paśyatastadā | nṛpaśreṣṭha! punaḥ pūrvakāle brahmājīne nāsikayā dvārā yadā pañcamaṃ janma gṛhītavān, tadā svayaṃ kamalanayano bhagavān nārāyaṇo hariḥ brahmaṇaḥ sammukhe ’sya dharmasya upadeśaṃ cakāra |

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच—तज्जगादारविन्दाक्षो ब्रह्मणः पश्यतस्तदा। नृपश्रेष्ठ! पूर्वकाले ब्रह्मा नासिकया पञ्चमं जन्म जग्राह यदा, तदा कमलनयनः स्वयं भगवान् नारायणो हरिः ब्रह्मणः पुरतः अस्य धर्मस्योपदेशं चकार॥

Word by Word

• तत्: that (speech/statement)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• जगाद: said/spoke
• जगाद: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गद्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अरविन्दाक्षः: the lotus-eyed one (Narayana)
• अरविन्दाक्षः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरविन्दाक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahma
• ब्रह्मणः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पश्यतः: while (he) was seeing; in the presence of (him) seeing
• पश्यतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Verbal adjective (present active participle)
• Root: पश्यत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• तदा: then/at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Brahmā
• Nārāyaṇa
• Hari
• Lotus-eyed Lord (Āravindākṣa/Kamalanayana)
• Best of kings (nṛpaśreṣṭha, addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage grounds dharma in divine revelation: Nārāyaṇa Himself instructs Brahmā, implying that ethical order is not merely human convention but a cosmic principle transmitted from the Supreme to the creator-god.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates a primordial episode: in an earlier age, during a special ‘fifth birth’ of Brahmā (described as arising through the nostril), the lotus-eyed Nārāyaṇa/Hari speaks and teaches ‘this dharma’ directly before Brahmā.