Adhyaya 7 — Fall of Vasu
येनायां यज्वनां श्रेष्ठः स्वराज्यादवरॊपितः ।
कस्य वा श्रद्धया पूतं सुतं सोमं महाध्वरे ।
पीत्वा वयं प्रयास्यामो मुदं मन्त्रपुरःसरम् ॥
yenāyāṃ yajvanāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ svarājyādavaropitaḥ / kasya vā śraddhayā pūtaṃ sutaṃ somaṃ mahādhvare / pītvā vayaṃ prayāsyāmo mudaṃ mantrapuraḥsaram
“Oleh siapakah pengorban (yajña) yang terunggul ini dijatuhkan dari kedaulatannya sendiri? Atau Soma—anak siapakah—yang disucikan oleh śraddhā dalam korban agung, akan kami minum, lalu kami berangkat dengan sukacita, didahului mantra-mantra suci?”
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The verse juxtaposes political authority (svarājya) with ritual authority (yajña). It implies that sovereignty can be lost despite ritual excellence, and it foregrounds śraddhā and mantra as the proper inner and outer supports of sacred action—suggesting that mere status is unstable, while dharmic performance requires sincerity and correct invocation.
This verse is not directly sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita in content; it fits best under vaṃśānucarita-type narrative material insofar as it concerns royal status and events around a king/elite sacrificer, but it is primarily an episode about ritual and kingship within the broader narrative frame.
Soma ‘purified by śraddhā’ symbolizes refined consciousness or vital essence made fit for higher passage; ‘mantra-puraḥsara’ suggests that sound (mantra) is the guiding principle that ‘goes before’ experience and transition. The fall from sovereignty can be read as the collapse of egoic control, after which one seeks the rightly consecrated Soma (inner nectar) and proceeds under mantra—i.e., under disciplined sacred order.