Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
हव्यवाहस्य दीप्तस्य समिध॑ ये न जुह्नति
havyavāhasya dīptasya samidhaṁ ye na juhvati
శక్రుడు పలికెను—ప్రజ్వలిత హవ్యవాహుడు (అగ్ని) ఉన్నప్పటికీ సమిధలను అర్పించని వారు—
शक्र उवाच
The verse points to the ethical fault of neglecting one’s rightful religious duties: when the means and proper occasion for worship/oblation are available (the fire is already blazing), failing to offer what is due signifies disregard for dharma and gratitude, and becomes a basis for moral censure.
Indra (Śakra) is speaking within a didactic passage of the Anuśāsana Parva, using the image of a blazing sacrificial fire and the unoffered samidh to illustrate a class of people who fail to perform prescribed acts, setting up a broader statement about conduct and its consequences.