Shloka 6
दहन् मृतानि भूतानि तस्याग्निर्भरतो5भवत् | अग्निष्टोमे च नियत: क्रतुश्रेष्ठो भरस्य तु,“उन्हीं “अद्भुत” या गृहपतिके एक अग्निस्वरूप पुत्र उत्पन्न हुआ, जिसका नाम “भरत' है। ये मरे हुए प्राणियोंके शवका दाह करते हैं। भरतका अग्निष्टोम यज्ञमें नित्य निवास है, इसलिये उन्हें “नियत” भी कहते हैं। नियतका संकल्प उत्तम है
dahan mṛtāni bhūtāni tasyāgnir bharato 'bhavat | agniṣṭome ca niyataḥ kratuśreṣṭho bharasya tu ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “That householder’s fire took form as a son named Bharata. He burns the bodies of departed beings, performing the final rite that returns them to the elements. And because Bharata is ever established in the Agniṣṭoma—foremost among sacrifices—he is also called ‘Niyata’, the ‘steadfast one’, whose resolve is excellent.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ethical order (dharma) with disciplined ritual action: fire is not merely destructive but a sacred agent that completes the final rite for the dead, and steadfast commitment to the highest sacrifice symbolizes self-control and unwavering resolve (niyama/niyata).
Mārkaṇḍeya describes a wondrous birth: a householder’s sacred fire manifests as a son named Bharata, whose function is to burn the bodies of the deceased, and who is portrayed as perpetually established in the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice, earning the epithet ‘Niyata’ (the steadfast).