Shloka 52
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
स गत्वा हवनीये>ग्नौ तीव्रं नियममास्थित: । जुहाव संस्कृतैर्मन्त्रेरकेकामाहुतिं नृप:,वहाँ जाकर अत्यन्त कठोर नियमोंका पालन करते हुए वे आहवनीय अम्निमें आभिचारिक मन्त्र पढ़कर एक-एक आहुति डालने लगे
sa gatvā havanīye ’gnau tīvrāṃ niyamam āsthitaḥ | juhāva saṃskṛtair mantrair ekāṃ ekām āhutiṃ nṛpaḥ ||
فلما مضى إلى هناك، أقام الملك على رياضةٍ بالغة الشدة، وشرع يُلقي القرابين واحدًا بعد واحد في نار «آهَفَنِيَة» (Āhavanīya) المقدسة، وهو يتلو المانترا المُعَدّة إعدادًا صحيحًا بحسب الطقس—فكان ذلك أشبه بشعيرةٍ قسريةٍ مقصودة لا بذبيحةٍ روتينية.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power and moral weight of disciplined action (niyama) in ritual contexts: when a person—especially a ruler—undertakes severe restraint and performs offerings with properly prepared mantras, the act becomes a deliberate instrument of intention, raising ethical questions about how spiritual means are used.
Bhīṣma describes a king who goes to the sacrificial setting and, maintaining a very strict vow, begins offering oblations one by one into the Āhavanīya fire while reciting duly prepared mantras, indicating a sustained rite performed with focused purpose.