Shloka 63
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
यद् दग्धं भक्षितं पीतमशितं यच्च नाशितम् । चूर्णीकृतापविद्धं च यज्ञसम्भारमीदृशम्,उस समय देवगुरु बृहस्पतिने महादेवजीको वेदका मखाध्याय पढ़कर सुनाया। तत्पश्चात् प्रजापति दक्ष दोनों नेत्रोंसे आँसुओंकी धारा बहाते हुए हाथ जोड़कर भय और शंकासे सहमे हुए-से बोले--“भगवन्! यदि आप मुझपर प्रसन्न हैं, यदि मैं आपका प्रिय हूँ, आपके अनुग्रहका पात्र हूँ अथवा यदि आप मुझे वर देनेको उद्यत हैं तो मैं यही वर माँगता हूँ कि मैंने दीर्घकालसे महान् प्रयत्न करके जो ऐसा यज्ञ-सम्भार जुटा रखा था, उसमेंसे जो चला दिया गया, खा-पी लिया गया, नष्ट किया गया अथवा चूर-चूर करके फेंक दिया गया, वह सब मेरे लिये व्यर्थ न हो”
yad dagdhaṁ bhakṣitaṁ pītam aśitaṁ yac ca nāśitam | cūrṇīkṛtāpaviddhaṁ ca yajñasambhāram īdṛśam ||
“Whatever has been burned, eaten, drunk, consumed, or destroyed—and whatever has been pulverized and cast away—of those sacrificial materials: let none of it be futile for me.”
वीरभद्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights concern for the moral and spiritual ‘fruit’ of action: even when a rite is disrupted and its materials are ruined, the performer seeks that sincere effort and intended dharmic purpose not become barren. It reflects the idea that merit is tied not only to external completion but also to intention and rightful restoration.
In the aftermath of a sacrificial rite being violently disrupted, the speaker enumerates the various ways the sacrificial requisites have been ruined—burned, consumed, destroyed, or scattered—and voices a plea that these losses not render the entire undertaking meaningless.