Shloka 53
यक्ष उवाच किमेकं यज्ञियं साम किमेकं यज्ञियं यजु: । का चैषां वृणुते यज्ञं कां यज्ञो नातिवर्तते,यक्षने पूछा--कौन एक वस्तु यज्ञिय साम है? कौन एक (यज्ञसम्बन्धी) यज्ञिय यजु है? कौन एक वस्तु यज्ञका वरण करती है? और किस एकका यज्ञ अतिक्रमण नहीं करता?
yakṣa uvāca: kim ekaṃ yajñiyaṃ sāma? kim ekaṃ yajñiyaṃ yajuḥ? kā caiṣāṃ vṛṇute yajñaṃ? kāṃ yajño nātivartate?
The Yaksha said: “What single thing is the sacrificial Sāman? What single thing is the sacrificial Yajus? Which one among these chooses (or accepts) the sacrifice? And which single thing does the sacrifice never overstep?”
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames sacrifice as governed by a single, higher principle rather than mere ritual mechanics—prompting the listener to identify the ethical or spiritual essence that makes ritual meaningful and sets its limits.
In the Yaksha–Yudhishthira dialogue at the lake, the Yaksha tests the hero with riddling questions about Vedic sacrifice—Sāman and Yajus—and about what truly ‘accepts’ a sacrifice and what a sacrifice must never transgress.