Shloka 303
त्वमश्विनौ यमौ मित्र: सोमस्त्वमसि चानिल: । आपट्ीमें हव्य और कव्य यथावत् प्रतिष्ठित हैं। देव! आप ही दग्ध करनेवाले अग्नि, धारण-पोषण करनेवाले धाता और बुद्धिके स्वामी बृहस्पति हैं। आप ही युगल अश्विनीकुमार, मित्र (सूर्य), चन्द्रमा और वायु हैं
tvam aśvinau yamau mitraḥ somas tvam asi cānilaḥ | āpaṭīm̐ havyam ca kavyam yathāvat pratiṣṭhitam | deva! tvam eva dagdha-karaṇo 'gniḥ, dhāraṇa-poṣaṇa-kartā dhātā, buddheḥ svāmī bṛhaspatiś ca | tvam eva yugala-aśvinīkumārau, mitraḥ (sūryaḥ), candramāḥ, vāyuś ca ||
Mandapāla praises the deity before him as the very embodiment of many divine powers: the twin Aśvins, the twin Yamas, Mitra, Soma, and the Wind. He affirms that the sacred offerings—both those meant for the gods (havis) and those meant for the ancestors (kavya)—stand properly established through this divine presence. Addressing him as “Deva,” he declares that the same being is Agni who burns, Dhātṛ who sustains and nourishes, and Bṛhaspati who governs intelligence. The ethical force of the verse is reverence for the cosmic order: the one divine reality upholds ritual duty, ancestral obligation, and the sustaining powers that make dharma possible.
मन्दपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the divine can be understood as a single sustaining reality manifesting as many Vedic powers—fire, wind, sun, moon, and priestly intelligence—thereby grounding dharma in a unified cosmic order that supports both divine worship (havya) and ancestral duty (kavya).
Mandapāla is offering a hymn-like praise to a deity he addresses as “Deva,” identifying him with multiple gods and affirming that proper sacrificial and ancestral offerings are established through this divine presence.