Shloka 13
Gaṅgā-Tīrtha Darśana and the Prelude to the Yavakrīta–Indra Exemplum (लोमश-युधिष्ठिर संवादः)
अष्टावक्र उवाच षडाधाने दक्षिणामाहुरेके षट् चैवेमे ऋतव: कालचक्रम् । षडिन्न्द्रियाण्युत षट् कृत्तिकाश्न षट् साद्यस्का: सर्ववेदेषु दृष्टा:,अष्टावक्र बोले--कुछ विद्वानोंका मत है कि अग्निकी स्थापनाके समय दक्षिणामें छः गौ ही देनी चाहिये। ये छः ऋतुएँ ही संवत्सररूप कालचक्रकी सिद्धि करती हैं। मनसहित ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ भी छः ही हैं। कृत्तिकाओंकी संख्या छः: ही है तथा सम्पूर्ण वेदोंमें साद्यस्क नामक यज्ञ भी छः: ही देखे गये हैं
Aṣṭāvakra uvāca—ṣaḍ-ādhāne dakṣiṇām āhur eke, ṣaṭ caiveme ṛtavaḥ kāla-cakram; ṣaḍ-indriyāṇy uta ṣaṭ kṛttikāś ca, ṣaṭ sādyaskāḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛṣṭāḥ.
Aṣṭāvakra disse: “Algumas autoridades declaram que, no rito de estabelecer o fogo sagrado, a remuneração sacerdotal (dakṣiṇā) deve ser de seis vacas. Essas seis estações completam a roda do tempo que é o ano. Os sentidos, juntamente com a mente, também são contados como seis; as estrelas Kṛttikā são seis em número; e, por todo o Veda, encontram-se ainda os sacrifícios Sādyaska descritos como seis. Assim, a tradição aponta repetidamente o ‘seis’ como medida de completude no ritual e na ordem cósmica.”
अष्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how Vedic tradition uses recurring numerical patterns—especially ‘six’—to express completeness and order: in ritual fees (six cows), in nature (six seasons forming the year), in psychology (senses with mind), and in sacred astronomy and sacrifice. The ethical implication is fidelity to established dharma: ritual action should align with recognized scriptural measures and the wider cosmic order.
Aṣṭāvakra is instructing his listener in a discourse on Vedic rites and authoritative tradition. He cites multiple domains—ritual practice, the calendar, the faculties of perception, and Vedic sacrificial classifications—to justify a specific ritual prescription (the dakṣiṇā of six cows at fire-establishment) by showing that ‘six’ is repeatedly sanctioned across śruti-based frameworks.