Shloka 15
Cāturhotra as Inner Sacrifice (Yoga-Yajña) and Nārāyaṇa Recitation
कतनिमन्ता ब्रह्मात्मा होताध्वर्यु: कृतस्तुति: । ऋतं प्रशास्ता तच्छस्त्रमपवर्गो ३स्य दक्षिणा
kartā nimantā brahmātmā hotādhvaryuḥ kṛtastutiḥ | ṛtaṁ praśāstā tacchastram apavargo 'sya dakṣiṇā ||
Brahmana itu berkata: “Si pelaku dan si penjemput—apabila ditegakkan dalam hakikat Brahman—menjadi Hotṛ dan Adhvaryu; dan yang melantunkan pujian menjadi Udgātṛ. Kebenaran (ṛta) ialah pemimpin yang memerintah, dan senjatanya ialah ajaran yang tepat. Upah korban (dakṣiṇā) bagi yajña batin ini ialah apavarga—pembebasan terakhir (mokṣa).”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse internalizes the Vedic sacrifice: the roles of priests are mapped onto inner faculties, and the true ‘instrument’ of the rite is truth (ṛta). The highest ‘fee’ or fruit of this inner yajña is apavarga—liberation—implying that ethical truthfulness and right guidance culminate in mokṣa rather than worldly reward.
A Brāhmaṇa speaker explains a symbolic interpretation of sacrifice within the Ashvamedhika context, shifting attention from external ritual performance to an inward discipline where mental functions and moral truth become the real officiants and means, and liberation is presented as the ultimate outcome.