Shloka 27
Marutta’s Sacrifice and Agni’s Embassy (मरुत्त-यज्ञे दूतत्वम्)
शक्र उवाच त्वमेवान्यान् दहसे जातवेदो न हि त्वदन्यो विद्यते भस्मकर्ता | त्वत्संस्पर्शात् सर्वलोको बिभेति अश्रद्धेयं वदसे हव्यवाह,इन्द्रने कहा--हव्यवाहन! अग्निदेव! तुम तो ऐसी बात कह रहे हो, जिसपर विश्वास नहीं होता; क्योंकि तुम्हीं दूसरोंको भस्म करते हो। तुम्हारे सिवा दूसरा कोई भस्म करनेवाला नहीं है। तुम्हारे स्पर्शसे सभी लोग डरते हैं
śakra uvāca tvam evānyān dahase jātavedo na hi tvadanyo vidyate bhasmakartā | tvatsaṃsparśāt sarvaloko bibheti aśraddheyaṃ vadase havyavāha ||
Śakra said: “O Jātavedas, you alone burn all others; apart from you there is no other maker of ashes. By your very touch the whole world is afraid. Therefore, O Havyavāha, what you are saying seems unbelievable.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a being universally feared for its power (Agni) can utter words that appear implausible to others; the verse highlights how reputation and perceived nature shape credibility, raising an ethical question about judging truth by the speaker’s known function rather than by careful inquiry.
Indra (Śakra) addresses Agni with his epithets Jātavedas and Havyavāha, challenging Agni’s statement as ‘hard to believe’ by pointing to Agni’s defining cosmic role: he alone burns and reduces things to ash, and all beings fear his touch.