Shloka 7
Rudra’s Omitted Share in the Yajña (रुद्रभागानुपपत्तिः — यज्ञोपाख्यानम्)
वषट्कारो5भवज्ज्या तु धनुषस्तस्य भारत । यज्ञाज़नि च चत्वारि तस्य संनहने5भवन्,भरतनन्दन! वषट्कार उस धनुषकी प्रत्यंचा था। यज्ञके चारों अंग स्नान, दान, होम और जप उन भगवान् शिवके लिये कवच हो गये
vaṣaṭkāro 'bhavaj jyā tu dhanuṣas tasya bhārata | yajñāṅgāni ca catvāri tasya saṃnahane 'bhavan bharatanandana ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, the sacred exclamation ‘vaṣaṭ’ became the bowstring of his bow. And the four constituents of sacrifice became his protective armour, O delight of the Bharatas.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a symbolic ethic: true power is not merely physical but is ideally rooted in sanctified speech and disciplined religious practice. By making the vaṣaṭ-call a bowstring and the limbs of sacrifice an armour, it suggests that action—especially violent action—should be restrained and legitimized by sacred order (dharma) and inner discipline.
In the Sauptika Parva’s depiction of a divinely empowered warrior (contextually linked with Śiva’s power), Vaiśampāyana describes supernatural armament: ritual elements themselves become parts of weaponry and protection—vaṣaṭ becomes the bowstring, and the four sacrificial constituents become armour—signaling divine consecration of martial capability.