Shloka 9
Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)
वृत्ते शुद्धे स्थिता नित्यमिन्द्रियैश्वाप्पबाधिता: । उपातिष्ठ न्त तं यज्ञ यजन्तस्ते महर्षय:,वे सब-के-सब प्रत्यक्ष धर्मका पालन करनेवाले, क्रोध-विजयी, जितेन्द्रिय, मनोनिग्रहपरायण, हिंसा और दम्भसे रहित तथा सदा शुद्ध सदाचारमें स्थित रहनेवाले थे। उन्हें किसी भी इन्द्रियके द्वारा कभी बाधा नहीं पहुँचती थी। ऐसे-ऐसे महर्षि वह यज्ञ करानेके लिये वहाँ उपस्थित थे
vṛtte śuddhe sthitā nityam indriyaiś cāpy abādhitāḥ | upātiṣṭhanta taṃ yajñaṃ yajantaste maharṣayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Ever established in pure conduct, and never disturbed by the senses, those great seers stood by that sacrifice, officiating and performing the rites. Their disciplined lives—free from inner agitation—made them fit to uphold the yajña as an embodiment of visible dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is upheld not only by ritual form but by the moral and psychological fitness of its performers: purity of conduct and mastery over the senses make religious action stable, non-harmful, and truly dharmic.
The narrator describes the assembly of great sages who have come to attend and conduct the sacrifice. Their disciplined, unshaken character is highlighted to show the yajña is being carried out under exemplary guardianship.