Shloka 7

Marutta’s Sacrifice: Indra’s Threat, Saṃvarta’s Mantric Restraint, and Divine Reconciliation (अध्याय १०)

Devanagari script

बृहस्पतिर्याजयतां महेन्द्र देवश्रेष्ठ वज़भृतां वरिष्ठम्‌ । संवर्तो मां याजयिताद्य राजन्‌ न ते वाक्‍्यं तस्य वा रोचयामि

Transliteration

Marutta uvāca — Bṛhaspatir yājayatāṃ Mahendram, devaśreṣṭhaṃ vajrabhṛtāṃ variṣṭham | Saṃvarto māṃ yājayitā’dya rājan, na te vākyaṃ tasya vā rocayāmi ||

Translation

ਮਰੁੱਤ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—“ਦੇਵਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ ਅਤੇ ਵਜ੍ਰਧਾਰੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਮਹੇਂਦ੍ਰ ਦਾ ਯੱਗ ਬ੍ਰਿਹਸਪਤੀ ਕਰਾਵੇ। ਪਰ ਹੇ ਰਾਜਨ, ਮੇਰਾ ਯੱਗ ਅੱਜ ਸੰਵਰਤ ਹੀ ਕਰਾਵੇਗਾ। ਨਾ ਤੇਰੀ ਗੱਲ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਭਾਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ, ਨਾ ਉਸ ਦੀ (ਇੰਦਰ ਦੀ)।”

Word by Word

• {'bṛhaspatiḥ': 'Bṛhaspati

• priest/preceptor of the gods', 'yājayatām': 'let (him) cause to perform

• let (him) officiate as priest (optative/imperative sense)', 'mahendram': 'Mahendra

• Indra, lord of the gods', 'devaśreṣṭham': 'best among the gods', 'vajrabhṛtām variṣṭham': 'the foremost among the bearers of the vajra (thunderbolt)', 'saṃvartaḥ': 'Saṃvarta

• a powerful sage/priest (often contrasted with Bṛhaspati)', 'mām': 'me', 'yājayitā': 'will officiate / will make (me) perform the sacrifice', 'adya': 'today, now', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'na': 'not', 'te vākyam': 'your statement/counsel', 'tasya vā': 'or his (i.e., Indra’s)', 'rocayāmi': 'I approve/accept

Speaker

मरुत्त उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Marutta
• Bṛhaspati
• Mahendra (Indra)
• Saṃvarta
• vajra (thunderbolt)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical agency in ritual and governance: a patron (king) may firmly choose his officiant and course of action, even when pressured by high authority, if he judges the alternative counsel unacceptable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Marutta responds to a kingly interlocutor, distinguishing between Indra’s sacrifice—fit for Bṛhaspati—and his own sacrifice, which he insists will be conducted by the sage Saṃvarta; he explicitly rejects both the interlocutor’s advice and Indra’s preference.