Shloka 35
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
ब्रह्म! उसीने लोकको उन्नतिके पथपर ले जानेवाली यह धर्मकी मार्यादा स्थापित की है। देवताओं और पितरोंकी पूजा करनी चाहिये, यह उसीकी आज्ञा है ।।
nārada uvāca | brahman! sa eva lokān unnati-pathaṁ netuṁ dharma-maryādām etāṁ pratiṣṭhāpitavān | devatā-pitṛ-pūjā kartavyā—iti tasyaivājñā || brahmā sthāṇur manur dakṣo bhṛgur dharmas tapo yamaḥ | marīcir aṅgirā atriś ca pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ | vasiṣṭhaḥ parameṣṭhī sūryaś candramāḥ kardamaḥ krodho vikṛtaś ca—ete ekaviṁśatiḥ prajāpātayaḥ tasmin paramātmani sambhūtāḥ proktāḥ; te ca tasyaiva sanātana-dharma-maryādāṁ pālayanti pūjayanti ca ||
那罗陀说道：“婆罗门啊！唯有彼至上之我，建立了这引导诸世界走向升华之道的达摩界限与秩序。应当礼敬诸天，并行祖灵（pitṛ）之祭——此乃他的命令。梵天、斯陀努（湿婆）、摩奴、达叉、婆利古、达摩、苦行（Tapas）、阎摩、摩利支、安祇罗、阿底利、普罗私底耶、普罗诃、克罗图、婆悉吒、帕拉梅什提、太阳、月亮、迦尔达摩、忿怒（Krodha）与维克利塔——这二十一位生主（Prajāpati）皆被说成出自那至上自性；他们奉持并敬拜他所立的永恒达摩法度。”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not arbitrary: it is an established, divinely grounded moral order meant to uplift the worlds. Worship of gods and ancestors is presented as a binding injunction within that order, and even the cosmic progenitors (Prajāpatis) are portrayed as upholding and honoring this eternal Dharma.
Nārada is instructing a Brahman interlocutor, explaining that the Supreme Being instituted the norms of Dharma and commanded the worship of deities and ancestors. He then enumerates twenty-one Prajāpatis—cosmic progenitors—said to be born from the Supreme Self, who themselves maintain and worship that eternal Dharma-ordinance.