Shloka 8
Marutta’s Sacrifice and Agni’s Embassy (मरुत्त-यज्ञे दूतत्वम्)
इन्द्र उवाच एहि गच्छ प्रहितो जातवेदो बृहस्पतिं परिदातुं मरुत्ते । अयं वै त्वां याजयिता बृहस्पति- स्तथामरं चैव करिष्यतीति
indra uvāca: ehi gaccha prahito jātavedo bṛhaspatiṃ paridātuṃ marutte | ayaṃ vai tvāṃ yājayitā bṛhaspatis tathāmaraṃ caiva kariṣyatīti ||
Indra dit : «Viens, Jātavedas (Agni). Va, envoyé par moi, porter Bṛhaspati auprès de Marutta. Dis au roi là-bas : “C’est ce Bṛhaspati lui-même qui sera ton prêtre officiant et conduira ton sacrifice ; et par ce rite il te rendra ‘immortel’, c’est-à-dire qu’il t’accordera une gloire impérissable et l’accès au ciel.”»
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual action (yajña) should be guided by rightful spiritual authority: Indra directs that Bṛhaspati, the proper preceptor, conduct Marutta’s sacrifice. The promise of ‘immortality’ points to the ethical idea that correctly performed sacred duty yields enduring spiritual merit and undying fame, not merely worldly gain.
Indra commissions Agni (Jātavedas) as a messenger to go to King Marutta and bring Bṛhaspati to him. Agni is to tell Marutta that Bṛhaspati himself will officiate the king’s yajña and, through that sacrificial undertaking, will grant him ‘amaratva’—lasting renown and heavenly attainment.