Shloka 346
Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)
विसर्जिता: समाप्तौ च सत्रादस्माद् व्रजामहे । धर्मशास्त्रमें देखे गये विधि-विधानसे ही हम तपस्या करेंगे। आपको हिंसारहित बुद्धि ही अधिक प्रिय है; अतः प्रभो! आप यज्ञोंमें सदा इस अहिंसाका ही प्रतिपादन करें। द्विजश्रेष्ठ! ऐसा करनेसे हम आपपर बहुत प्रसन्न होंगे। यज्ञकी समाप्ति होनेपर जब आप हमें विदा करेंगे, तब हम यहाँसे अपने घरको जायँगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | visarjitāḥ samāptau ca satrād asmād vrajāmahe | dharmaśāstreṣu dṛṣṭena vidhi-vidhānenaiva vayaṃ tapaḥ kariṣyāmaḥ | ahiṃsātmikā buddhir eva te priyatarā; ataḥ prabho, yajeṣu sadā asyā ahiṃsāyā eva pratipādanaṃ kuru | dvijaśreṣṭha, evaṃ kṛte vayaṃ tvayi bahu prasannā bhaviṣyāmaḥ | yajñasya samāptau yadā tvaṃ asmān visarjayiṣyasi, tadā vayaṃ ihaḥ sva-gṛhaṃ gamiṣyāmaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “When this sacrificial session is concluded and we are formally dismissed, we shall depart from here. We will undertake our austerities strictly according to the procedures and injunctions taught in the Dharmaśāstras. Since a non-violent disposition is dearest to you, O lord, you should always uphold and teach this very principle of ahiṃsā in sacrifices. O best of twice-born, by doing so we shall be greatly pleased with you. When, at the end of the rite, you grant us leave, then we shall go from here to our own homes.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
That religious practice—both ritual (yajña) and austerity (tapas)—should be guided by Dharmaśāstra procedure and, crucially, should foreground ahiṃsā (non-violence) as an ethical principle to be affirmed even within sacrificial contexts.
At the close of a satra (extended sacrificial session), the speakers state that once they are formally dismissed at the rite’s completion, they will depart for home; they also urge the addressed brāhmaṇa/authority to consistently advocate ahiṃsā in sacrificial teaching and practice.