Shloka 16
आस्तीक-वरप्रदानम् (Āstīka’s Boon and the Interruption of the Sarpa-satra)
यस्मिन् देशे च काले च मापनेयं प्रवर्तिता । ब्राह्मणं कारणं कृत्वा नायं संस्थास्यते क्रतु:,“जिस स्थान और समयमें यह यज्ञमण्डप मापनेकी क्रिया प्रारम्भ हुई है, उसे देखकर यह मालूम होता है कि एक ब्राह्मणको निमित्त बनाकर यह यज्ञ पूर्ण न हो सकेगा”
yasmin deśe ca kāle ca māpaneyaṃ pravartitā | brāhmaṇaṃ kāraṇaṃ kṛtvā nāyaṃ saṃsthāsyate kratuḥ ||
Janamejaya said: “From the very place and the very time at which the measuring of the sacrificial ground has been set in motion, it is evident that this sacrifice will not reach completion if a single brāhmaṇa is made the pretext or instrument. The undertaking, begun under such inauspicious conditions, will not be successfully concluded.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual success is not merely technical; it depends on right conditions and right intent. If a brāhmaṇa is used merely as a convenient instrument or pretext, and the undertaking begins under flawed circumstances, the sacrifice is unlikely to reach a proper completion.
Janamejaya observes the circumstances—place and time—under which the measuring of the sacrificial area has begun, and draws an ominous conclusion: the sacrifice will not be completed if it proceeds by making a brāhmaṇa the ‘cause’ or tool, implying a problematic setup or motive behind the rite.