Shloka 473
Jarītā–Śārṅgā-saṃvāda: Ākhu-haraṇa and the Approach of Agni (आखुहरणं अग्न्यागमनश्च)
काम प्रार्थयसे यं त्वं मत्त: प्राप्स्यसि तं नृप । रुद्र बोले-राजेन्द्र! यदि तुम एकाग्रचित्त हो ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करते हुए बारह वर्षोतक घृतकी निरन्तर अविच्छिन्न धाराद्वारा अग्निदेवको तृप्त करो तो मुझसे जिस कामनाके लिये प्रार्थना कर रहे हो, उसे पाओगे
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | kāmaṁ prārthayase yaṁ tvaṁ mattaḥ prāpsyasi taṁ nṛpa | rudra uvāca—rājendra! yadi tvam ekāgracittaḥ brahmacaryaṁ pālayan dvādaśa varṣāṇi ghṛtasya nirantara-avicchinna-dhārāyā agnidevaṁ tṛptayasi, tato mām yāṁ kāmanāṁ prati prārthayase, tāṁ prāpsyasi |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O king, the boon you seek—you shall obtain it from me.” Rudra said: “O best of kings, if with a one-pointed mind you observe brahmacarya and, for twelve years, continuously satisfy the Fire-god (Agni) with an unbroken stream of ghee (ghṛta), then you will attain the desire for which you are praying to me.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desired outcomes are linked to disciplined effort: concentrated mind (ekāgratā), moral restraint (brahmacarya), and sustained ritual commitment. The verse frames boons not as arbitrary gifts but as fruits of long, ethically regulated tapas.
A king petitions Rudra for a boon. Rudra sets a demanding condition: for twelve years the king must maintain brahmacarya and continuously offer ghee into fire to satisfy Agni; upon fulfilling this vow, the requested boon will be granted.