Shloka 13
Raibhya-putrayoḥ satra-vṛttāntaḥ — The Satra Episode of Raibhya’s Sons
Parāvasu and Arvāvasu
एष ते ब्रह्महा यज्ञं मा द्रष्टूं प्रविशेदिति । ब्रह्माहा प्रेक्षितेनापि पीडयेत् त्वामसंशयम्,लोमशजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! अर्वावसु मुनि भाईके लिये ब्रह्महत्याका प्रायश्ित्त पूरा करके पुनः उस यज्ञमें आये। परावसुने अपने भाईको वहाँ उपस्थित देखकर राजा बृहद्द्युम्नसे हर्षगदगद वाणीमें कहा--'राजन! यह ब्रह्महत्यारा है। अतः इसे आपका यज्ञ देखनेके लिये इस मण्डपमें प्रवेश नहीं करना चाहिये। ब्रह्मघाती मनुष्य अपनी दृष्टिमात्रसे भी आपको महान् कष्टमें डाल सकता है, इसमें संशय नहीं है”
eṣa te brahmahā yajñaṃ mā draṣṭuṃ praviśed iti | brahmahā prekṣitenāpi pīḍayet tvām asaṃśayam ||
Lomaśa said: “This man is a slayer of a brāhmaṇa; let him not enter to behold your sacrifice. A brahma-slayer, even by merely casting his gaze, can afflict you with great harm—of this there is no doubt.”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ritual-ethical principle that certain grave sins—especially brahmahatyā—are treated as powerfully polluting and socially dangerous, capable of harming sacred undertakings. It highlights the duty to protect a yajña’s sanctity and the king’s responsibility to maintain ritual order.
Lomaśa reports a warning spoken in the context of a sacrifice: someone identified as a brahma-slayer is to be barred from entering the sacrificial enclosure even as a spectator, because his mere presence or gaze is believed to bring distress or ruin to the patron and the rite.