Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 653
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
अग्निकार्येषु वै तेषां हव्यं नाश्नाति पावक: । जो प्रज्वलित यज्ञाग्निमें समिधाकी आहुति नहीं देते
agnikāryeṣu vai teṣāṃ havyaṃ nāśnāti pāvakaḥ |
शक्र ने कहा—जो लोग अग्नि-सम्बन्धी कर्तव्यों की उपेक्षा करते हैं, उनके हव्य को पावक स्वीकार नहीं करता। जो प्रज्वलित यज्ञाग्नि में समिधा की आहुति नहीं देते, उनके अग्निहोत्र में अग्निदेव हविष्य ग्रहण नहीं करते; इसलिए अग्नि को विधिपूर्वक प्रज्वलित करके ही आहुति देनी चाहिए।
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Offerings bear fruit only when performed according to dharma: the sacred fire must be properly kindled and tended, and oblations offered in the prescribed way; otherwise even a nominal offering is not truly ‘received’ by Agni.
Indra (Śakra) states a rule of sacrificial propriety: people who fail in the duties connected with maintaining and serving the ritual fire find that Agni does not accept their havya, underscoring the importance of correct observance in yajña.