Shloka 40
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
सनत्कुमारो भगवांस्तत: प्राधीतवान् नूप
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Sanatkumāro bhagavāṁs tataḥ prādhītavān, nṛpa naraśvara! tatpaścāt bhagavān Sanatkumāraḥ tebhyaḥ taṁ Sātvata-dharma-upadeśaṁ gṛhītavān. Kuruśreṣṭha! Sanatkumārāt vīraḥ Prajāpatiḥ Kṛtayugasya ādau asya dharmasya upadeśaṁ gṛhītavān.
सनत्कुमारो भगवांस्ततः प्राधीतवान् नृप ।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the legitimacy of Sātvata-dharma by tracing its authoritative transmission: a revered sage (Sanatkumāra) learns and receives the doctrine properly, and then a primordial progenitor (Prajāpati) receives it at the dawn of the Kṛta age. The ethical point is that dharma is preserved through disciplined learning and faithful handing down from qualified teachers.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, describes a lineage of instruction: Sanatkumāra first masters the teaching, then formally receives the Sātvata-dharma instruction, and finally Prajāpati receives that same dharma from Sanatkumāra at the beginning of the first yuga, establishing an ancient pedigree for the doctrine.