Shloka 16
अश्विनो: प्रतिसंश्रुत्य च्यवन: पाकशासनम् । प्रोवाच सहितो देवै: सोमपावश्चिनौ कुरु,पूर्वकालमें च्यवन मुनिने अश्विनीकुमारोंको सोमपान करानेकी प्रतिज्ञा करके इन्द्रसे कहा--'देवराज! आप दोनों अश्विनीकुमारोंको देवताओंके साथ सोमपानमें सम्मिलित कर लीजिये'
aśvinoḥ pratisaṃśrutya cyavanaḥ pākaśāsanam | provāca sahito devaiḥ somapāv aśvinau kuru || pūrvakālam eva cyavana-munine aśvinīkumārayoḥ somapānaṃ kārayituṃ pratijñāya indram uvāca—devarāja! ubhau aśvinīkumārau devaiḥ saha somapāne sammilitau kuru ||
അശ്വിനിദ്വയത്തോട് വാഗ്ദാനം ചെയ്ത മഹർഷി ച്യവൻ ദേവന്മാരുടെ സന്നിധിയിൽ പാകശാസനനായ ഇന്ദ്രനോട് പറഞ്ഞു—“ദേവരാജാ! ഈ രണ്ടു അശ്വിനീകുമാരന്മാരെയും മറ്റു ദേവന്മാരോടൊപ്പം സോമപാനത്തിൽ ഉൾപ്പെടുത്തുക.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A dharmic promise, once made to deserving beings, carries moral force: it should be honored even if it disrupts entrenched hierarchies. Cyavana’s insistence that the Ashvins be admitted to Soma-drinking highlights fairness, fidelity to one’s word, and resistance to exclusion born of pride or rivalry.
Cyavana, having earlier assured the Ashvin twins that he would secure their right to drink Soma, confronts Indra before the assembled gods and urges him to include the Ashvins among the Soma-drinkers. The scene frames a dispute over ritual privilege and divine status, with Cyavana acting as advocate for the Ashvins.