Devanagari
ईजेऽश्वमेधैरधियज्ञमीश्वरं
महाविभूत्योपचिताङ्गदक्षिणै: ।
ततैर्वसिष्ठासितगौतमादिभि-
र्धन्वन्यभिस्रोतमसौ सरस्वतीम् ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
īje ’śvamedhair adhiyajṣam īśvaraṁ
mahā-vibhūtyopacitāṅga-dakṣiṇaiḥ
tatair vasiṣṭhāsita-gautamādibhir
dhanvany abhisrotam asau sarasvatīm
Synonyms
īje
—
worshiped
;
aśvamedhaiḥ
—
by performing the horse sacrifice yajṣas
;
adhiyajṣam
—
to satisfy the master of all yajṣas
;
īśvaram
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
mahā
—
vibhūtyā — with great opulence
;
upacita
—
aṅga — dakṣiṇaiḥ — with all prescribed paraphernalia and contributions of dakṣiṇā to the brāhmaṇas
;
tataiḥ
—
executed
;
vasiṣṭha
—
asita — gautama — ādibhiḥ — by such brāhmaṇas as Vasiṣṭha, Asita and Gautama
;
dhanvani
—
in the desert
;
abhisrotam
—
inundated by the water of the river
;
asau
—
Mahārāja Ambarīṣa
;
sarasvatīm
—
on the bank of the Sarasvatī .
Translation
In desert countries where there flowed the river Sarasvatī, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa performed great sacrifices like the aśvamedha-yajṣa and thus satisfied the master of all yajṣas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such sacrifices were performed with great opulence and suitable paraphernalia and with contributions of dakṣiṇā to the brāhmaṇas, who were supervised by great personalities like Vasiṣṭha, Asita and Gautama, representing the king, the performer of the sacrifices.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
He worshipped the Supreme Lord by horse sacrifices required by a king for prosperity, with all aṅgas and charities, performed by Vasiṣṭha, Asita, Gautama and other sages in the desert facing the flow of the Sarasvatī River.
Therefore performance of sacrifices obligatory for a king he had performed by representatives as did Bharata. He had sacrifices performed with gifts and all aṅgas as required by a king for prosperity by Vasiṣṭha and others in the desert (dhanvani) facing the current of the Sarasvatī River. He himself, at a distant place, in his palace, engaged in worshipping the Lord with concentration.
Purport
When one performs ritualistic sacrifices as prescribed in the
Vedas,
one needs expert
brāhmaṇas
known as
yājṣika-brāhmaṇas.
In Kali-yuga, however, there is a scarcity of such
brāhmaṇas.
Therefore in Kali-yuga the sacrifice recommended in
śāstra
is
saṅkīrtana-yajṣa
(
yajṣaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ
). Instead of spending money unnecessarily on performing
yajṣas
impossible to perform in this Age of Kali because of the scarcity of
yājṣika-brāhmaṇas,
one who is intelligent performs
saṅkīrtana-yajṣa.
Without properly performed
yajṣas
to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there will be scarcity of rain (
yajṣād bhavati parjanyaḥ
). Therefore the performance of
yajṣa
is essential. Without
yajṣa
there will be a scarcity of rain, and because of this scarcity, no food grains will be produced, and there will be famines. It is the duty of the king, therefore, to perform different types of
yajṣas,
such as the
aśvamedha-yajṣa,
to maintain the production of food grains.
Annād bhavanti bhūtāni.
Without food grains, both men and animals will starve. Therefore
yajṣa
is necessary for the state to perform because by
yajṣa
the people in general will be fed sumptuously. The
brāhmaṇas
and
yājṣika
priests should be sufficiently paid for their expert service. This payment is called
dakṣiṇā.
Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, as the head of the state, performed all these
yajṣas
through great personalities like Vasiṣṭha, Gautama and Asita. Personally, however, he was engaged in devotional service, as mentioned before (
sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ
). The king or head of state must see that things go on well under proper guidance, and he must be an ideal devotee, as exemplified by Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. It is the duty of the king to see that food grains are produced even in desert countries, what to speak of elsewhere.