Shloka 13
ततः स यज्ञ विव्याध रौद्रेण हृदि पत्रिणा | अपक्रान्तस्ततो यज्ञो मृगो भूत्वा सपावक:,तदनन्तर रुद्रदेवने भयंकर बाणके द्वारा उस यज्ञके हृदयमें आघात किया। तब अग्निसहित यज्ञ मृगका रूप धारण करके वहाँसे भाग निकला
tataḥ sa yajñaṁ vivyādha raudreṇa hṛdi patriṇā | apakrāntas tato yajño mṛgo bhūtvā sapāvakaḥ ||
Then he pierced the sacrifice in the heart with a fierce, Rudra-like arrow. Thereupon the sacrifice, accompanied by the sacred fire, fled away, assuming the form of a deer.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse suggests that when wrathful force intrudes upon sacred action, the integrity of ritual and dharma is endangered; the ‘flight’ of the yajña symbolizes the loss of auspicious order when violence dominates.
A fierce arrow strikes the personified sacrifice in the heart; the yajña, together with the sacred fire (Agni), transforms into a deer and escapes from the scene.