Shloka 11
Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)
उनके सिवा और भी अनेक मुनियोंने बड़े-बड़े यज्ञ किये थे। भरतश्रेष्ठ! महर्षि अगस्त्यका ऐसा यज्ञ जब चालू हो गया, तब देवराज इन्द्रने वहाँ वर्षा बंद कर दी
vaśiṣṭhādayaḥ pare 'pi bahavo munayo mahāyajñān akurvata | bharataśreṣṭha! mahārṣer agastyasya yajne pravṛtte devarāja indro 'tra varṣaṃ nyavārayat |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Besides those already mentioned, many other sages too performed great sacrifices. O best of the Bharatas, when the great sage Agastya’s sacrifice had begun, Indra, king of the gods, withheld the rains there.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great ritual action (yajña) unfolds within a wider moral and cosmic order: divine powers may obstruct or permit outcomes, reminding listeners that dharma involves humility, perseverance, and right intent rather than mere ritual magnitude.
The narrator notes that many sages performed grand sacrifices; then, as Agastya’s sacrifice begins, Indra intervenes by stopping the rains in that region, creating an obstacle around the ongoing rite.