Shloka 14
Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)
सत्र चेद॑ महद् विप्रा मुनेर्द्धादिशवार्षिकम् । न वर्षिष्यति देवश्न वर्षाण्येतानि द्वादश
satraṁ ced idaṁ mahad viprā muner dvādaśavārṣikam | na varṣiṣyati deveśa varṣāṇy etāni dvādaśa ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô brāhmaṇas, si cette grande session sacrificielle du sage doit durer douze ans, alors le seigneur des dieux n’enverra pas la pluie durant ces douze années mêmes.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human ritual power and divine control of natural order: prolonged sacrificial undertakings can provoke divine resistance, reminding readers that dharma involves balancing ritual ambition with the welfare of the world (rain, sustenance).
Vaiśampāyana reports that a great twelve-year satra is underway (or proposed) by a sage, and that the lord of the gods—understood as Indra—will withhold rain for the entire twelve-year period, foreshadowing hardship and conflict around the sacrifice.