स्वाहाकारवषट्कारौ विद्याश्च विविधा स्तथा। आयत्तमत्र राजर्षे सर्वमेतन्न संशय:।।1.53.14।।
Meaning
The sacred exclamations svaha and vashat, and the various branches of learning, royal sage, all depend on her, without doubt.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| svāhā-kāra-vaṣaṭ-kārau | स्वाहा-कार-वषट्-कारौ | the utterances of svaha and vashat | Nominative dual |
| vidyāḥ ca vividhāḥ tathā | विद्याः च विविधाः तथा | and the various branches of knowledge likewise | Nominative plural / Adverbial / Nominative plural / Adverbial |
| āyattam atra rājarṣe | आयत्तम् अत्र राजर्षे | depends here, O royal sage | Nominative / Adverbial / Vocative |
| sarvam etat na saṃśayaḥ | सर्वम् एतत् न संशयः | all this; there is no doubt | Nominative / Nominative / Negation / Nominative |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source explains the ritual mechanics behind Vashishtha's claim: each fire-oblation is accompanied by Vedic hymns naming the receiving deity, closed with exclamations like 'svaaha' (e.g., 'indraaya svaahaa, indraaya idam na mama' -- 'this is offered to Indra, not mine'), while 'vashat' closes hymns addressed to ancestral deities (manes). Eligibility to perform such rituals requires learning the Vedas, and the cow supplies everything needed for that learning and ritual practice at every stage, for both teacher and student.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.53.14 · Bāla Kāṇḍa