Shloka 33

Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha

Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context

Devanagari script

तेषां स्थान ततो यातं तथाग्निष्टोमयाजिनाम्‌ । अग्निष्ठतेन च तथा ये यजन्ति तपोधना:

Transliteration

teṣāṁ sthānaṁ tato yātaṁ tathāgniṣṭomayājinām | agniṣṭhatenā ca tathā ye yajanti tapodhanāḥ ||

Translation

வைசம்பாயனன் கூறினான்—அதன்பின் அக்னிஷ்டோம யாகம் செய்தோர் அடையும் நியதியான உலகம் விளக்கப்பட்டது; அதுபோலத் தவம் செல்வமாகக் கொண்ட முனிவர்கள் அக்னிஷ்டுத் முறையால் யஜிக்கும் போது அவர்களும் அதே வகை நிலையை அடைகின்றனர்.

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

स्थानम्place; abode

ततःfrom there; thence

यातम्gone; reached

तथाthus; likewise

अग्निष्टोमयाजिनाम्of the performers of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice

अग्निष्टोमेनby/with the Agniṣṭoma (rite)

चand

तथाlikewise

येwho (those who)

यजन्तिthey sacrifice; they worship

तपोधनाःascetics (those whose wealth is austerity)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Agniṣṭoma (sacrifice)

Agniṣṭha (rite)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse affirms a dharmic principle: disciplined sacrificial worship (yajña), especially when joined with austerity (tapas), is portrayed as producing a definite spiritual attainment—an appropriate ‘place’ or realm corresponding to one’s meritorious action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a descriptive account of posthumous attainments, indicating the realms reached by those who performed specific Vedic sacrifices—here, Agniṣṭoma and the Agniṣṭha rite—particularly by ascetics characterized as ‘rich in austerity’ (tapodhanāḥ).