Shloka 20

Kāma–Mamatā–Upadeśa

Discourse on Desire, Possessiveness, and Ritual Duty

Devanagari script

यजस्व वाजिमेधेन विधिवद्‌ दक्षिणावता । अन्यैश्न विविधैर्यज्जै: समृद्धैराप्तदक्षिणै:

Transliteration

yajasva vājimedhena vidhivad dakṣiṇāvatā | anyaiś ca vividhair yajñaiḥ samṛddhair āptadakṣiṇaiḥ ||

Translation

Vāyu dit : «Accomplis le sacrifice de l’Aśvamedha selon le rite, avec les dons prescrits aux officiants. Et entreprends aussi d’autres sacrifices variés, opulents et dûment gratifiés.»

Word by Word

यजस्वperform (a sacrifice); sacrifice

वाजिमेधेनby the horse-sacrifice (Aśvamedha)

विधिवत्according to rule; duly

दक्षिणावताwith sacrificial fees (dakṣiṇā); fee-bestowing

अन्यैःby/with other

चand

विविधैःvarious; diverse

यज्ञैःwith sacrifices

समृद्धैःrich; well-provided; splendid

आप्तदक्षिणैःhaving the prescribed/adequate fees (dakṣiṇā) given

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

वायुदेव (Vāyu, Wind-god)

अ

अश्वमेध / वाजिमेध (Aśvamedha, horse-sacrifice)

द

दक्षिणा (dakṣiṇā, ritual gifts/fees)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual action must be aligned with dharma: it should be performed correctly (vidhivat) and completed with generosity (dakṣiṇā). The verse emphasizes that religious merit and social righteousness depend not only on the rite itself but also on honoring those who sustain it through proper gifts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu instructs the listener (implicitly a royal agent in the Aśvamedhika context) to undertake the Aśvamedha and additional sacrifices, stressing both procedural correctness and the ethical obligation of providing due dakṣiṇā, indicating a program of post-war royal consolidation through dharmic rites.