Shloka 25
अपरे त्वब्रुवंस्तत्र ऋत्विजो5स्य भवामहे । यज्ञविघ्नं करिष्यामो दीयतां दक्षिणा इति
apare tv abruvaṃs tatra ṛtvijo ’sya bhavāmahe | yajñavighnaṃ kariṣyāmo dīyatāṃ dakṣiṇā iti
Others there declared, “We are his officiating priests. We will cause an obstruction to the sacrifice—so let the sacrificial fee be given.” The verse highlights a moral lapse: those entrusted with sustaining sacred order attempt to leverage ritual power for payment, turning religious duty into coercion.
शेष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions against exploiting sacred roles for personal gain: when ritual specialists threaten to disrupt a yajña unless paid, dharma is inverted—duty becomes coercion, and religious authority becomes a tool of greed.
A group of priests present at the scene assert that they are the officiants for the sacrifice and threaten to create a ritual obstruction (yajñavighna) unless the dakṣiṇā (fee/gift) is handed over.