Shloka 131
Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)
तथा हानेकैर्मुनिभिर्महान्त: क्रतव: कृता: । एवंविधे त्वगस्त्यस्य वर्तमाने तथाध्वरे | न ववर्ष सहस्राक्षस्तदा भरतसत्तम
tathā hānaikair munibhir mahāntaḥ kratavaḥ kṛtāḥ | evaṃvidhe tv agastyasya vartamāne tathādhvare | na vavarṣa sahasrākṣas tadā bharatasattama ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Cũng vậy, nhiều bậc đại hiền đã cử hành những tế lễ hùng vĩ. Thế nhưng, khi Agastya đang tiến hành một tế lễ đúng như thế, Indra ngàn mắt đã không cho mưa rơi vào lúc ấy, hỡi bậc tối thượng trong dòng Bharata.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when great rites are performed by eminent sages, cosmic support (like rain) is not automatic; the narrative highlights the tension between ritual merit, divine will, and the maintenance of ṛta/dharma, implying that higher purposes and moral-cosmic order govern outcomes beyond mere performance.
The narrator notes that many sages have conducted grand sacrifices, but during Agastya’s ongoing sacrifice of a similar kind, Indra (Sahasrākṣa) did not cause rain to fall—setting up a situation of drought or obstruction connected to the ritual context.