Shloka 3
Puruṣaikatva-vyākhyāna: The One Virāṭ Puruṣa and the Many ‘Puruṣas’
Rudra–Brahmā Saṃvāda
अजेन यष्टव्यमिति प्राहुर्देवा द्विजोत्तमान् । स च च्छागो>प्यजो ज्ञेयो नान्य: पशुरिति स्थिति:
ajena yaṣṭavyam iti prāhur devā dvijottamān | sa ca chāgo 'py ajo jñeyo nānyaḥ paśur iti sthitiḥ ||
भीष्म ने कहा—देवताओं ने श्रेष्ठ द्विजों से कहा—“अज के द्वारा यज्ञ करना चाहिए।” और यह निश्चय है कि यहाँ ‘अज’ का अर्थ बकरा ही समझा जाए; दूसरा कोई पशु अभिप्रेत नहीं है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes authoritative interpretation of ritual injunctions: when scripture says to sacrifice with an ‘aja,’ the established tradition clarifies that ‘aja’ here means a goat, not any other animal—showing how dharma relies on precise, context-bound meanings.
Bhishma recounts a declaration by the gods to eminent Brahmins: they instruct that a sacrifice should be performed using an ‘aja’ and explicitly settle the intended referent as a goat, excluding other animals.