HV 5.1
आसीद् धर्मस्य संगोप्ता पूर्वम् अत्रिसमः प्रभुः । अत्रिवंशसमुत्पन्नस् त्व् अङ्गो नाम प्रजापतिः ॥
āsīd dharmasya saṃgoptā pūrvam atri-samaḥ prabhuḥ | atri-vaṃśa-samutpannas tv aṅgo nāma prajāpatiḥ
There was, in olden times, a lord — protector of dharma, equal to Atri — born in the Atri-lineage: a prajāpati named Aṅga.
The Living Words
*Dharmasya saṃgoptā*, 'protector of dharma'. *Atri-samaḥ prabhuḥ*, 'a lord equal to Atri'. *Atri-vaṃśa-samutpannaḥ*, 'born in the Atri-lineage'. *Aṅgo nāma prajāpatiḥ*, 'Aṅga by name, a prajāpati'.
The Heart of It
The verse names the righteous father. *Dharmasya saṃgoptā* — 'protector of dharma'. The Varkari tradition's attention: righteousness in one generation does not guarantee righteousness in the next. Aṅga is dharma-saṃgoptṛ; his son will be the opposite. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's sober recognition that *kula* is not itself dharma — that *bhakti* must be cultivated afresh in each generation — has HV 5.1 as its Sanskrit setup for the Vena-tragedy that follows.