Shloka 33

Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha

Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context

Devanagari script

तेषां स्थान ततो यातं तथाग्निष्टोमयाजिनाम्‌ । अग्निष्ठतेन च तथा ये यजन्ति तपोधना:

Transliteration

teṣāṁ sthānaṁ tato yātaṁ tathāgniṣṭomayājinām | agniṣṭhatenā ca tathā ye yajanti tapodhanāḥ ||

Translation

قال فايشَمبايانا: ثم وُصِفَتِ الديارُ المقدَّرةُ لمن أقاموا قربانَ «أغنيشْتُوما» (Agniṣṭoma)، وكذلك الديارُ التي يبلغها الزهّادُ الأغنياءُ بالتقشّف، الذين يتعبّدون أيضًا بطقس «أغنيشْتْها» (Agniṣṭha). ويؤكّد هذا المقطع أنّ الفعلَ الطقسيَّ المنضبط، إذا أُنجِزَ بالطهارة وضبط النفس، عُدَّ ذا عاقبةٍ روحيةٍ مؤكَّدةٍ وجزاءٍ معلوم.

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

स्थानम्place; abode

ततःfrom there; thence

यातम्gone; reached

तथाthus; likewise

अग्निष्टोमयाजिनाम्of the performers of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice

अग्निष्टोमेनby/with the Agniṣṭoma (rite)

चand

तथाlikewise

येwho (those who)

यजन्तिthey sacrifice; they worship

तपोधनाःascetics (those whose wealth is austerity)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Agniṣṭoma (sacrifice)

Agniṣṭha (rite)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse affirms a dharmic principle: disciplined sacrificial worship (yajña), especially when joined with austerity (tapas), is portrayed as producing a definite spiritual attainment—an appropriate ‘place’ or realm corresponding to one’s meritorious action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a descriptive account of posthumous attainments, indicating the realms reached by those who performed specific Vedic sacrifices—here, Agniṣṭoma and the Agniṣṭha rite—particularly by ascetics characterized as ‘rich in austerity’ (tapodhanāḥ).