याज्ञवल्क्यो बभूवाथ ब्रह्मिष्ठो ऽध्वर्युसत्तमः ॥
पैलो होता वसोः पुत्रो धौम्येन सहितो ऽभवत् ॥
एतेषां शिष्यवर्गाश् च पुत्राश् च भरतर्षभ ॥
बभूवुर् होत्रगाः सर्वे वेदवेदाङ्गपारगाः ॥
ते वाचयित्वा पुण्याहम् ईहयित्वा च तं विधिम् ॥
शास्त्रोक्तं योजयाम् आसुस् तद् देवयजनं महत् ॥
yājñavalkyo babhūvātha brahmiṣṭho 'dhvaryusattamaḥ ||
pailo hotā vasoḥ putro dhaumyena sahito 'bhavat ||
eteṣāṃ śiṣyavargāś ca putrāś ca bharatarṣabha ||
babhūvur hotragāḥ sarve vedavedāṅgapāragāḥ ||
te vācayitvā puṇyāham īhayitvā ca taṃ vidhim ||
śāstroktaṃ yojayām āsus tad devayajanaṃ mahat ||
Yajnavalkya, most skilled in brahman-lore, became the finest adhvaryu; Paila, son of Vasu, became the hotar, together with Dhaumya. The disciples and sons of these priests, O bull of the Bharatas, all became assistant hotragas, knowers of the Vedas and the vedangas. Having proclaimed the punyaha and performed that rite, they arranged, according to the shastra, that great place of divine worship.
130b6c1d48b3 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:28:51 PM UTC
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Everything is arranged "according to the shastra," beginning with the proclamation of the auspicious day (punyaha). It is telling that, before the sacrifice itself, time and place are consecrated: the sacred tolerates no negligence of order even at the outset. The verse teaches that a great undertaking requires a proper beginning — the invocation of blessing, the purification of the day and the place. Whoever wants the work to bear fruit does not neglect the threshold: a right beginning already carries within it a right outcome. Order kept in the small first step leads to the fullness of all that is accomplished.