Shloka 4
Draupadī’s Instruction on Marital Conduct and Household Discipline (चित्तग्रहण-उपदेश)
अन्निर्गुहपतिर्नाम नित्य यज्ञेषु पूज्यते । हुतं वहति यो हव्यमस्य लोकस्य पावक:,“जो अग्नि गृहपति नामसे सदा यज्ञमें पूजित होते हैं तथा हवन किये गये हविष्यको देवताओंके पास पहुँचाते हैं, वे अद्भुत अग्नि ही इस जगत्को पवित्र करनेवाले हैं
agnirgṛhapatir nāma nityaṁ yajñeṣu pūjyate | hutaṁ vahati yo havyaṁ asya lokasya pāvakaḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “That Fire who is known as Gṛhapati is ever honored in sacrifices. He is the one who carries the offered oblation to its divine recipients; indeed, that wondrous Fire is the purifier of this world.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Agni, especially as the household-sacrificial fire (Gṛhapati), is to be continually honored because he mediates offerings and purifies the world; reverence for sacred duty and ritual order sustains ethical and cosmic order.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing the status and function of Agni in sacrifice: Agni is regularly worshipped, receives the oblations, and conveys them onward, thereby acting as the purifier and sustaining force within the world’s sacred economy.