Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
अवर्षति च पर्जन्ये सर्वभूतानि भूतकृत् । वसिष्ठो जीवयामास प्रजापतिरिव प्रजा:,एक बार पानी न बरसनेपर महर्षि वसिष्ठने प्राणियोंकी सृष्टि करनेवाले दूसरे प्रजापतिके समान सम्पूर्ण प्रजाको जीवनदान दिया था
avarṣati ca parjanye sarvabhūtāni bhūtakṛt | vasiṣṭho jīvayāmāsa prajāpatir iva prajāḥ ||
Nang hindi bumagsak ang ulan, ang lahat ng nilalang na nilikha ng Maylikha ay napasailalim sa dalamhati. Noon, muling binigyang-buhay ng dakilang rishi na si Vasiṣṭha ang lahat ng nilalang, iningatan at tinaguyod ang buong bayan gaya ng isang Prajāpati—panginoon ng paglikha—na nag-iingat at bumubuhay-muli sa kanyang mga nasasakupan.
व्यास उवाच
In crisis (such as drought), dharma expresses itself as the protection and sustenance of life. The verse presents the ideal of a righteous sage who, like a Prajāpati, takes responsibility for the welfare of all beings—modeling compassion, stewardship, and the maintenance of social and cosmic order.
A drought occurs—rain does not fall—endangering all creatures. Vasiṣṭha intervenes and ‘revives’ or sustains the populace, and the text likens his life-giving role to that of a Prajāpati who preserves and restores his subjects.