Devanagari
आरभ्यतां धनुर्यागश्चतुर्दश्यां यथाविधि ।
विशसन्तु पशून्मेध्यान् भूतराजाय मीढुषे ॥ २६ ॥
Verse text
ārabhyatāṁ dhanur-yāgaś
caturdaśyāṁ yathā-vidhi
viśasantu paśūn medhyān
bhūta-rājāya mīḍhuṣe
Synonyms
ārabhyatām
—
should be commenced
;
dhanuḥ
—
yāgaḥ — the bow sacrifice
;
caturdaśyām
—
on the fourteenth day of the month
;
yathā
—
vidhi — in accordance with Vedic injunctions
;
viśasantu
—
offer in sacrifice
;
paśūn
—
animals
;
medhyān
—
which are fit to be offered
;
bhūta
—
rājāya — to Lord Śiva, the lord of ghostly spirits
;
mīḍhuṣe
—
the giver of benedictions .
Translation
Commence the bow sacrifice on the Caturdaśī day in accordance with the relevant Vedic injunctions. In ritual slaughter offer the appropriate kinds of animals to the magnanimous Lord Śiva.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Commence the bow sacrifice on the Caturdaśī day in accordance with the relevant Vedic injunctions. In ritual slaughter offer the appropriate kinds of animals to the magnanimous Lord Śiva.
KB 10.36.26
Kaṁsa also advised his friends to arrange to worship Lord Śiva by offering animal sacrifices and performing the sacrifice called Dhanur-yajṣa and the sacrifice performed on the fourteenth day of the moon, known as Caturdaśī. This date falls three days after Ekādaśī, and it is set aside for the worship of Lord Śiva. One of the plenary portions of Lord Śiva is called Kālabhairava. This form of Lord Śiva is worshiped by demons who offer animals killed before him. The process is still current in India in a place called Vaidyanātha-dhāma, where demons offer animal sacrifices to the deity of Kālabhairava. Kaṁsa belonged to this demoniac group. He was also an expert diplomat, and so he quickly arranged for his demon friends to try to kill Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
For my prosperity, cut up some goats in order to please the lord of living entities.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
We should not only use material means. We should use supernatural means also to lure them. The two should be brought on the occasion of a spiritual festival, on the pretext of seeing wrestling matches. Śiva was the protector of Mathurā and the bow and very generous (mīḍhuṣe). Mīḍhuṣe means “unto Śiva who gives satisfaction by bestowing boons.” This is also a statement made out of fear.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
We should not only use material means. We should use supernatural means also to lure them. The two should be brought on the occasion of a spiritual festival, on the pretext of seeing a wrestling matches. Śiva was the protector of Mathurā and the bow and he was very generous (mīḍhuṣe). Mīḍhuṣe means “unto Śiva who gives satisfaction by bestowing boons.” This is also a statement made out of fear.