Shloka 9
अश्वमेधावसानम् — Dakṣiṇā-vibhāga and Avabhṛtha
Completion of the Aśvamedha
हूयमाने तथा वह्लौ होत्रे गुणसमन्विते । देवेष्वाहयमानेषु स्थितेषु परमर्षिषु,राजन! प्राचीन कालकी बात है, जब इन्द्रका यज्ञ हो रहा था और सब महर्षि मन्त्रोच्चारण कर रहे थे, ऋत्विजूलोग अपने-अपने कर्मोमें लगे थे, यज्ञका काम बड़े समारोह और विस्तारके साथ चल रहा था, उत्तम गुणोंसे युक्त आहुतियोंका अग्निमें हवन किया जा रहा था, देवताओंका आवाहन हो रहा था, बड़े-बड़े महर्षि खड़े थे, ब्राह्मणलोग बड़ी प्रसन्नताके साथ वेदोक्त मन्त्रोंका उत्तम स्वरसे पाठ करते थे और शीघ्रकारी उत्तम अध्वर्युगण बिना किसी थकावटके अपने कर्तव्यका पालन कर रहे थे। इतनेहीमें पशुओंके आलम्भका समय आया। महाराज! जब पशु पकड़ लिये गये, तब महर्षियोंको उनपर बड़ी दया आयी
hūyamāne tathā vahlau hotre guṇasamanvite | deveṣv āhayamāneṣu sthiteṣu paramarṣiṣu, rājan |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, as oblations endowed with excellent qualities were being duly offered into the blazing fire by the competent Hotṛ, while the gods were being invoked and the great seers stood present, the sacrifice proceeded in full solemnity. The scene conveys the ordered harmony of Vedic ritual—yet it also sets the stage for the moral tension that arises when the time comes for the binding of animals, stirring compassion in the sages.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ideal order of Vedic sacrifice—proper oblations, correct priestly function, and the presence of seers and gods—while implicitly preparing for an ethical question: when ritual action approaches harm (as in animal binding), compassion and moral reflection arise even within a dharmic framework.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a grand sacrifice in progress: offerings are poured into the fire by the Hotṛ, the gods are invoked, and great ṛṣis stand by as witnesses. The broader passage (as reflected in the accompanying prose) moves toward the moment when animals are seized for the rite, prompting pity among the sages.