Shloka 96
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
तस्य यज्ञ: पशुपतेस्तप: क्रतव एव च | दीक्षा दीप्तव्रता देवी दिशश्व॒ सदिगी श्व॒रा:
tasya yajñaḥ paśupates tapaḥ kratava eva ca | dīkṣā dīptavratā devī diśaś ca sadigīśvarāḥ ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “In that sacrifice of Lord Paśupati, austerity and the sacrificial rites themselves were present; and the goddess Dīkṣā (Consecration), radiant with her vowed discipline, arrived as well—along with the Directions together with their guardian-lords.” Thus the divine sacrifice of Paśupati proceeded, drawing in the very powers that uphold sacred order: disciplined consecration, ritual performance, and the cosmic guardians who witness and protect right conduct.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a true yajña as upheld by disciplined consecration (dīkṣā), austerity (tapas), and correct ritual action (kratu), under the witnessing protection of cosmic guardians (the directions and their lords). Ethically, it implies that sacred action succeeds when inner discipline and outer rite are aligned with cosmic order (dharma).
Vasiṣṭha describes Paśupati’s sacrifice as actively proceeding, with personified powers—Tapas, the Kratus, and Dīkṣā Devī—present, and with the Directions arriving together with their guardian-lords, indicating a grand, divinely attended ritual.