Shloka 20

Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)

Devanagari script

बीजयज्ञो मयायं वै बहुवर्षममाचित:

Transliteration

bījayajño mayāyaṃ vai bahuvarṣam amācitaḥ

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana nói: “Nghi lễ hiến cúng hạt giống này (nghi thức gieo trồng và thánh hiến) quả thật đã được ta cử hành suốt nhiều năm, giữ gìn và tuân thủ đúng phép.”

Word by Word

• बीजयज्ञः: the seed-sacrifice (rite connected with seed/sowing)
• बीजयज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीजयज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Instrumental, Singular

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• बहुवर्षम्: for many years / a long time
• बहुवर्षम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहुवर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अमाचितः: unhonoured / not respected
• अमाचितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माचित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes sustained commitment to dharmic observance: a rite is not merely a single act but something maintained over time with discipline, implying ethical steadiness and responsibility in upholding sacred duties.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana, as narrator, reports a speaker’s assertion that a particular consecratory sacrifice connected with ‘seed’ (fertility/continuity) has been carried out by him over many years, establishing credibility and the long-standing performance of the rite within the Ashvamedhika context.