Shloka 20

Devanagari script

बीजयज्ञो मयायं वै बहुवर्षममाचित:

Transliteration

bījayajño mayāyaṃ vai bahuvarṣam amācitaḥ

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “This seed-offering (rite of sowing and consecration) has indeed been performed by me for many years, duly observed and maintained.”

Word by Word

• बीजयज्ञः: the seed-sacrifice (rite connected with seed/sowing)
• बीजयज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीजयज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Instrumental, Singular

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• बहुवर्षम्: for many years / a long time
• बहुवर्षम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहुवर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अमाचितः: unhonoured / not respected
• अमाचितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माचित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes sustained commitment to dharmic observance: a rite is not merely a single act but something maintained over time with discipline, implying ethical steadiness and responsibility in upholding sacred duties.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana, as narrator, reports a speaker’s assertion that a particular consecratory sacrifice connected with ‘seed’ (fertility/continuity) has been carried out by him over many years, establishing credibility and the long-standing performance of the rite within the Ashvamedhika context.