Shloka 16
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
सदेवासुरगन्धर्वा: सकिन्नरमहोरगा: । जब वहाँ भगवान् नर और नारायणके नित्यकर्मका समय हुआ, उसी समय नारदजीके मनमें उनके दर्शनके लिये बड़ी उत्कण्ठा हुई। वे सोचने लगे, “अहो! यह उन्हीं भगवान्का स्थान है, जिनके भीतर देवता, असुर, गन्धर्व, किन्नर और महान् नागोंसहित सम्पूर्ण लोक निवास करते हैं ।।
sadevāsuragandharvāḥ sakinnarāmahoragāḥ | yadā tatra bhagavato nara-nārāyaṇayoḥ nityakarmakālaḥ samabhavat tadā nāradasya manasi teṣāṃ darśanāya mahān utkaṇṭhā samajāyata | sa cintayāmāsa—“aho! etad eva teṣāṃ bhagavatāṃ sthānaṃ yatra devāḥ asurāḥ gandharvāḥ kinnarāḥ mahā-uragāś ca samastā lokāś ca antar-niviṣṭāḥ || ekā mūrtir iyaṃ pūrvaṃ jātā bhūyaś caturvidhā | nara-nārāyaṇābhyāṃ ca kṛṣṇena hariṇā tathā ||”
毗湿摩说道：“与诸天、阿修罗、乾闼婆、紧那罗及大龙蛇同在——实则一切世界皆含摄于彼等之中——此处正是那诸神圣者的住处。及至世尊那罗与那罗延行其日常圣行之时，那罗陀心中忽被强烈的渴望攫住，欲得瞻礼。其自念曰：‘啊！此乃主宰之圣地，一切众生与诸界皆安住于彼。’昔时唯有一神圣之相；其后，为扩展达摩之族系与护持其传统，此一真实显现为四相：那罗、那罗延、黑天（克里希那）与诃利。凭其所积功德与坚固正行，此四者巩固了达摩之相续；故而在此世间，对达摩施以大恩。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is sustained not merely by abstract rules but by exemplary divine and sage-like embodiments. The verse frames Nara, Narayana, Krishna, and Hari as a fourfold manifestation that actively strengthens the continuity of Dharma through disciplined practice and merit, showing that righteous order is preserved by lived, enacted righteousness and divine grace.
At the moment when Nara and Narayana begin their daily obligatory observances, Narada becomes intensely eager to see them. He recognizes their abode as the locus in which all beings and worlds are contained, and he reflects on the doctrine that one divine reality manifested into four forms—Nara, Narayana, Krishna, and Hari—for the expansion and protection of Dharma’s tradition.