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?
El Yakṣa preguntó: «¿Qué cosa única es el Sāman del sacrificio? ¿Qué cosa única es el Yajus del sacrificio? ¿Cuál de ellas, una sola, elige (o acepta) el sacrificio? ¿Y qué cosa única no traspasa jamás el sacrificio?»
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.