Shloka 7
Nārada’s Exempla of Tapas and Assurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra (नारदोपदेशः—तपःसिद्ध्युदाहरणम्)
ददर्श तत्र वेदी श्व॒ संप्रजबलितपावका: । कृताभिषेकैर्मुनिभि्ठताग्निभिरुपस्थिता:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: dadarśa tatra vedīḥ śubhrāḥ saṃprajvalita-pāvakāḥ | kṛtābhiṣekair munibhiḥ hutāgnibhir upasthitāḥ | vana-puṣpa-ghṛtāhuti-dhūmair api ca tāḥ śobhante | nityaṃ veda-dhvani-yuktāḥ vedamaya-śarīravat pratibhānti | munigaṇaiḥ satataṃ saṃsparśaṃ kurvadbhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Di sana mereka melihat altar-altar yajña, tersusun rapi dan bercahaya, dengan api suci menyala di atasnya. Para muni—setelah mandi ritual dan menjalani penahbisan—duduk dekat api itu, memeliharanya, serta mempersembahkan oblation. Altar-altar itu kian indah oleh kepulan asap yang melingkar dari persembahan bunga-bunga hutan dan ghee. Dan karena lantunan Weda terdengar tanpa putus, altar-altar itu seakan berjasad Weda sendiri, senantiasa dilayani dan disertai oleh rombongan pertapa yang tekun dalam ritus.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as sustained practice: purity (ritual bathing), disciplined maintenance of sacred fire, and continuous Vedic recitation. Ethical life is shown not as mere belief but as steady, communal observance that sanctifies the environment and the mind.
The narrator describes a hermitage scene where sages sit by consecrated altars with blazing fires, offering oblations of ghee and forest flowers. The constant sound of Vedic chanting makes the altars appear ‘embodied’ with Vedic presence, emphasizing an atmosphere of uninterrupted ritual life.