Tradition has used the terms Vedas, Dharma, Truth, Supreme Being, etc, to indicate the moral excellence on which the entire universe rests. So, the enquiry into the notions of dharma and adharma has always existed. Many discussions on the ethical code occur as expositions or quotations from the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Smritis and so on in the Bhagavata Purana.
Among them, the one explained by Narada to Yudhishtira after the brilliant narration of Prahlada’s devotion gains special importance for many reasons, said Sri B. Sundarkumar in a discourse. Yudhishtira requests the sage to explain the nuances of Vedic dharma that are not explicit to all and are well hidden like the root of the tree. For there could be none better than Narada, who is exceptionally devoted to God, to expound the subtleties of dharma. Then Narada begins to explain the essence of dharma that he had imbibed from the very source and fountainhead of dharma, the Lord. The Lord says in the Gita: “I am the knowledge that is to be gained from the study of all the Vedas; I am the creator of Vedanta and also the knower of the Vedas.” He is also beyond the universe and He is the essence of Vedanta.
So what Narada teaches is the direct and authentic version of the theory and practice of dharma as taught by Lord Narayana. Dharma includes the universal laws of nature that sustain the universe and its functions with precision as much as the practices and duties that take care of the individual and the society. It is central to human life and means not only religious ideas and worship of gods, but moral conduct and righteous behaviour, truthfulness, duty, etc. There is nothing higher than dharma for it is the path by which man strives for release from samsara.
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