कृत्वा तु नैरृतान् दर्भान् धीरो धौम्यः पुरोहितः ॥
सामानि गायन् याम्यानि पुरतो याति भारत ॥
हतेषु भारतेष्व् आजौ कुरूणां गुरवस् तदा ॥
एवं सामानि गास्यन्तीत्य् उक्त्वा धौम्यो ऽपि गच्छति ॥
kṛtvā tu nairṛtān darbhān dhīro dhaumyaḥ purohitaḥ ||
sāmāni gāyan yāmyāni purato yāti bhārata ||
hateṣu bhārateṣv ājau kurūṇāṃ guravas tadā ||
evaṃ sāmāni gāsyantīty uktvā dhaumyo 'pi gacchati ||
Having made bundles of darbha grass oriented toward the southwest [of Nirriti], the steadfast Dhaumya, the family priest, singing the funeral samans of Yama, walks in front, O Bharata. "When the Bharatas are slain in battle, then the elders of the Kurus will thus sing these samans over them" -- so saying, Dhaumya too goes.
cd1e8eebf268 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:17:50 PM UTC
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The priest proclaims the future through the very rite: the funeral chants of Yama, sung at the moment of departure, are already the funeral service for the still-living persecutors -- a prophecy clothed in sacred act. Thus the omen rises from the laymen to the priest, and through the mouth of the officiant dharma itself pronounces the sentence. It is telling that the death foretold is precisely of the "elders of the Kurus": those whose task it was to guard the law and who failed to preserve it will be the first to be mourned. The verse teaches that a dharma once rejected does not go unanswered even within the sacred rite itself; that ritual in the mouth of the righteous becomes prophecy; and that those who condone injustice, though clothed in the rank of teachers, bring upon themselves the funeral song before others -- for more will be demanded of them.