यद् वा अश्वशिरो नाम तयोरमरतां व्यधात् ॥५२॥
sa vÄ adhigato dadhyaá¹…á¹…
aÅ›vibhyÄá¹ brahma niá¹£kalam
yad vÄ aÅ›vaÅ›iro nÄma
tayor amaratÄá¹ vyadhÄt
saḥ - he; vÄ - certainly; adhigataḥ - having obtained; dadhyaá¹… - Dadhyañca; aÅ›vibhyÄm - to the two AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras; brahma - spiritual knowledge; niá¹£kalam - pure; yat vÄ - by which; aÅ›vaÅ›iraḥ - AÅ›vaÅ›ira; nÄma - named; tayoḥ - of the two; amaratÄm - liberation in one's life; vyadhÄt - awarded.
That saintly Dadhyañca, who is also known as DadhÄ«ci, personally assimilated the spiritual science and then delivered it to the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras. It is said that Dadhyañca gave them mantras through the head of a horse. Therefore the mantras are called AÅ›vaÅ›ira. After obtaining the mantras of spiritual science from DadhÄ«ci, the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras became jÄ«van-mukta, liberated even in this life.
The following story is narrated by many ÄcÄryas in their commentaries:
niÅ›amyÄtharvaṇaá¹ daká¹£aá¹ pravargya-brahmavidyayoḥ; dadhyañcaá¹ samupÄgamya tam Å«catur athÄÅ›vinau; bhagavan dehi nau vidyÄm iti Å›rutvÄ sa cÄbravÄ«t; karmaṇy avasthito ’dyÄhaá¹ paÅ›cÄd vaká¹£yÄmi gacchatam; tayor nirgatayor eva Å›akra Ägatya taá¹ munim; uvÄca bhiá¹£ajor vidyÄá¹ mÄ vÄdÄ«r aÅ›vinor mune; yadi mad-vÄkyam ullaá¹…ghya bravÄ«á¹£i sahasaiva te; Å›iraÅ›-chindyÄá¹ na sandeha ity uktvÄ sa yayau hariḥ; indre gate tathÄbhyetya nÄsatyÄv Å«catur dvijam; tan-mukhÄd indra-gaditaá¹ Å›rutvÄ tÄv Å«catuḥ punaḥ; ÄvÄá¹ tava Å›iraÅ› chittvÄ pÅ«rvam aÅ›vasya mastakam; sandhÄsyÄvas tato brÅ«hi tena vidyÄá¹ ca nau dvija; tasminn indreṇa sañchinne punaḥ sandhÄya mastakam; nijaá¹ te daká¹£iṇÄá¹ dattvÄ gamiá¹£yÄvo yathÄgatam; etac chrutvÄ tadovÄca dadhyaá¹…á¹… Ätharvaṇas tayoḥ pravargyaá¹ brahma-vidyÄá¹ ca sat-ká¹›to ’satya-Å›aá¹…kitaḥ.
The great saint DadhÄ«ci had perfect knowledge of how to perform fruitive activities, and he had advanced spiritual knowledge as well. Knowing this, the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras once approached him and begged him to instruct them in spiritual science (brahma-vidyÄ). DadhÄ«ci Muni replied, “I am now engaged in arranging sacrifices for fruitive activities. Come back some time later.†When the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras left, Indra, the King of heaven, approached DadhÄ«ci and said, “My dear Muni, the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras are only physicians. Please do not instruct them in spiritual science. If you impart the spiritual science to them despite my warning, I shall punish you by cutting off your head.†After warning DadhÄ«ci in this way, Indra returned to heaven. The AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras, who understood Indra’s desires, returned and begged DadhÄ«ci for brahma-vidyÄ. When the great saint DadhÄ«ci informed them of Indra’s threat, the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras replied, “Let us first cut off your head and replace it with the head of a horse. You can instruct brahma-vidyÄ through the horse’s head, and when Indra returns and cuts off that head, we shall reward you and restore your original head.†Since DadhÄ«ci had promised to impart brahma-vidyÄ to the AÅ›vinÄ«-kumÄras, he agreed to their proposal. Therefore, because DadhÄ«ci imparted brahma-vidyÄ through the mouth of a horse, this brahma-vidyÄ is also known as AÅ›vaÅ›ira.
