Shloka 53
Ahaṅkāra-Tripartition and the Rise of Indriyas, Devatās, and Cosmic Administrators
गङ्गाद्यनन्तरं जज्ञे स्वाहा वै मन्त्रदेवता / स्वाहानामाग्निभार्योक्ता गङ्गादिभ्योधमा श्रुता
gaṅgādyanantaraṃ jajñe svāhā vai mantradevatā / svāhānāmāgnibhāryoktā gaṅgādibhyodhamā śrutā
Sesudah Gangga dan yang lainnya lahirlah Svaha, dewi penguasa persembahan mantra. Svaha disebut sebagai istri Agni, dan didengar sebagai yang paling utama di antara mereka yang bermula dari Gangga.
Lord Vishnu
Concept: Mantra and offering become efficacious through proper invocation (Svāhā) and the mediating fire (Agni); devotion expressed as disciplined ritual speech and act.
Vedantic Theme: Vāk (sacred speech) as śakti; karma-kāṇḍa as a preparatory purifier (citta-śuddhi) supporting higher realization.
Application: Perform offerings—literal or symbolic—with mindful speech: dedicate actions, conclude intentions with a conscious ‘offering’ attitude.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: ritual-site
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: sections on dāna, homa, and ritual merit where Agni is the carrier and mantra correctness is stressed; Garuda Purana: śrāddha passages where fire/offerings and mantras support ancestral rites (contextual)
FAQs
This verse identifies Svāhā as the mantradevatā—the presiding power of mantra-offerings—highlighting that oblations in fire-sacrifice are ritually completed through the Svāhā-formula.
By calling Svāhā the wife of Agni and the deity of mantra-offerings, the verse presents a ritual theology: Agni carries the offering, while Svāhā is the sanctifying utterance that directs it to the intended deity.
In homa, śrāddha-related fires, or daily offerings, pronounce mantras carefully and end oblations with “svāhā” with attention and purity, treating it as a meaningful invocation rather than a mere word.