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Shloka 6

Indra’s Brahma-hatyā, Flight from Sin, and Purification by Aśvamedha

श्रीशुक उवाच ऋषयस्तदुपाकर्ण्य महेन्द्रमिदमब्रुवन् । याजयिष्याम भद्रं ते हयमेधेन मा स्म भै: ॥ ६ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ṛṣayas tad upākarṇya mahendram idam abruvan yājayiṣyāma bhadraṁ te hayamedhena mā sma bhaiḥ

Śukadeva disse: Ouvindo isso, os ṛṣis disseram a Mahendra: “Que toda boa fortuna esteja contigo. Não temas. Realizaremos para ti um sacrifício aśvamedha, e assim serás libertado do pecado que possa advir de matar um brāhmaṇa.”

śrī-śukaḥŚrī Śuka
śrī-śukaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootśrī-śuka (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
uvācasaid
uvāca:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootvac (धातु)
FormPerfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Singular
ṛṣayaḥthe sages
ṛṣayaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
tatthat
tat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; object of hearing ‘that (speech/matter)’
upākarṇyahaving heard
upākarṇya:
Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootupa-√kṛ (धातु)
FormAbsolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्), ‘having heard/learned’ (idiomatically from upa-ā-√kṛ/√karṇ?; standard form upākarṇya = ‘having heard’)
mahendramMahendra (great Indra)
mahendram:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootmahendra (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular; karmadhāraya: mahā + indra
idamthis
idam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootidam (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; demonstrative pronoun
abruvansaid
abruvan:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootbrū (धातु)
FormImperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Plural
yājayiṣyāmaḥwe shall perform (as priests)/make you sacrifice
yājayiṣyāmaḥ:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootyājaya (णिच् causative of √yaj) (धातु)
FormSimple future (लृट्), 1st person, Plural; causative ‘we shall cause (you) to perform sacrifice / we shall officiate’
bhadramauspiciousness
bhadram:
Āśīḥ (आशीः/मङ्गल)
TypeNoun
Rootbhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; used as benedictive ‘good fortune’
tefor you/to you
te:
Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
TypeNoun
Roottvad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPronoun; Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular
hayamedhenaby the Aśvamedha sacrifice
hayamedhena:
Karana (करण)
TypeNoun
Roothayamedha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular; tatpuruṣa: hayasya medhaḥ ‘horse-sacrifice’
do not
:
Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootmā (अव्यय)
FormProhibitive particle (निषेधार्थक अव्यय), used with imperative/optative
smaindeed (in prohibition)
sma:
Pratiṣedha-anubandha (प्रतिषेध-अनुबन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootsma (अव्यय)
FormEmphatic particle (स्म-निपात), often with mā for prohibition
bhaiḥfear
bhaiḥ:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootbhī (धातु)
FormImperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular; √bhī ‘to fear’
I
Indra (Mahendra)
Ṛṣis (the sages)

FAQs

This verse shows the sages guiding Indra toward purification through a Vedic sacrifice (Aśvamedha), indicating that prescribed dharmic remedies exist for relieving fear and the burden of sin.

Indra was distressed after the grave act of killing Vṛtrāsura; the sages reassured him and offered a sanctioned ritual path of purification by officiating an Aśvamedha on his behalf.

Seek wise guidance, accept responsibility, and follow a genuine process of rectification—through honest repentance, disciplined corrective action, and spiritually grounded practices—rather than remaining trapped in fear.