Shloka 203
संवर्तो याजयामास यवीयान् स बृहस्पते: । उन्होंने देवराज इन्द्रसे स्पर्धा रखनेके कारण अपने यज्ञ-वैभवद्वारा उन्हें पराजित कर दिया था। इन्द्रका प्रिय चाहनेवाले बृहस्पतिजीने जब उनका यज्ञ करानेसे इन्कार कर दिया, तब उन्हींके छोटे भाई संवर्तने मरुत्तका यज्ञ कराया था
Saṃvarto yājayāmāsa yavīyān sa Bṛhaspateḥ |
Vāyu said: “Saṃvarta, the younger brother of Bṛhaspati, served as the officiating priest and conducted the sacrifice. Because he rivaled Indra, he overcame the lord of the gods through the splendor and power of that sacrificial rite. When Bṛhaspati—seeking Indra’s welfare—refused to officiate, it was his younger brother Saṃvarta who performed King Marutta’s sacrifice.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical tension between loyalty and duty: Bṛhaspati refuses to officiate out of concern for Indra, while Saṃvarta accepts and demonstrates how ritual power and personal rivalry can reshape divine-human relations. It implicitly warns that spiritual authority (yajña-śakti) can be used competitively, so intention and allegiance matter in dharmic action.
Vāyu narrates that Saṃvarta, Bṛhaspati’s younger brother, became the priest for King Marutta’s sacrifice. Bṛhaspati declined to conduct it because he favored Indra; Saṃvarta, motivated by rivalry with Indra, performed the yajña and, through its grandeur, is said to have surpassed or ‘defeated’ Indra’s standing.