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

Vaiśampāyana nói: Bấy giờ, Đấng mắt như hoa sen cất lời, trong khi Brahmā đang chứng kiến. Ôi bậc vương giả tối thượng! Thuở trước, khi Brahmā thọ lấy lần sinh thứ năm qua lỗ mũi, chính Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa—Hari, Đấng mắt như hoa sen—đã trực tiếp giảng dạy dharma này ngay trước mặt Brahmā.

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.