Shloka 20
Draupadī’s Instruction on Marital Conduct and Household Discipline (चित्तग्रहण-उपदेश)
एवमग्निर्भगवता नष्ट: पूर्वमथर्वणा । आहूत: सर्वभूतानां हव्यं वहति सर्वदा,इस प्रकार पूर्वकालमें अदृश्य हुए अग्निको भगवान् अंगिराने फिर बुलाया। जिससे प्रकट होकर वे सदा सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंका हविष्य वहन करते हैं
evam agnir bhagavatā naṣṭaḥ pūrvam atharvaṇā | āhūtaḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ havyaṁ vahati sarvadā ||
Thus, in earlier times, Agni had disappeared; then the venerable Atharvan invoked him again. Manifest once more, Agni ever carries the sacrificial oblations for all beings—restoring the ordained flow of worship and cosmic order.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
When sacred order is disrupted (Agni’s disappearance), it is restored through rightful Vedic action and invocation; Agni’s role as carrier of offerings symbolizes the maintenance of dharma and the proper channel between beings and the divine.
Mārkaṇḍeya recounts an earlier episode in which Agni vanished; the seer Atharvan summoned him back, after which Agni again became manifest and continuously bore the oblations offered on behalf of all beings.