Shloka 38
नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व
अग्न्याधेये यद् भवति यच्च सोमे सुते द्विज । यच्चेतरैर्महायज्जैवेंद तद् भगवान् पुन:
agnyādhāne yad bhavati yac ca some sute dvija | yac cetarair mahāyajñair evaṁ tad bhagavān punaḥ ||
Kapila said: “O twice-born one, the merit that arises from establishing the sacred fires, and that which is gained when the Soma is pressed, and likewise the merit obtained through other great sacrifices—this, O venerable one, you already know well.”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a discussion about the fruits of major Vedic rites—Agnyādhāna, Soma-sacrifice, and other mahāyajñas—by acknowledging that the interlocutor already knows their ritual merit, preparing the ground for a deeper evaluation of what truly leads to the highest good.
Kapila addresses a dvija and refers to well-known sacrificial results, signaling a transition from listing ritual attainments to a more probing instruction (typical of Śānti Parva) about the relative value of external sacrifice and inner knowledge/discipline.