Shloka 59
Adhyaya 74 — King Svarashtra, the Deer-Queen’s Curse, and the Rise of Tamasa Manu
ज्योतिर्धर्मा पृथुः काव्यश्चैत्रोऽग्निर्वलकस्तथा ।
पीवरश्च तथा ब्रह्मन् ! सप्त सप्तर्षयोऽभवन् ॥
jyotirdharmā pṛthuḥ kāvyaścaitro 'gnirvalakastathā / pīvaraśca tathā brahman ! sapta saptarṣayo 'bhavan
ज्योतिः धर्मः पृथुः काव्यः चैत्रोऽग्निर्वलकस्तथा। पीवरश्चेति सप्तैते सप्तर्षयः, हे ब्राह्मण।
FAQs
Each age is anchored by exemplary seers who preserve revelation, ritual, and moral law—sages are the stabilizing ‘memory’ of dharma across cycles.
Manvantara: naming the Saptarṣis is a definitive Manvantara component, alongside devas and Indra.
The Saptarṣis can be read as seven guiding principles/faculties (light, law, expansion, discernment, cyclical time, transformative fire, protection/nurture) that uphold an age’s spiritual ecology.