शाकल्येति होवाच याज्ञवल्क्यः, त्वां स्विदिमे ब्राह्मणा अङ्गारावक्शयणमक्रता3 इति ॥ १८ ॥
śākalyeti hovāca yājñavalkyaḥ, tvāṃ svidime brāhmaṇā aṅgārāvakśayaṇamakratā3 iti || 18 ||
18. ‘Śākalya,’ said Yājñavalkya, ‘have these Vedic scholars made you their instrument for burning charcoals?”
For the sake of meditation one and the same vital force has been inculcated in eight different forms; each god having three divisions, viz. abode (general form), being (special manifestation) and deity (cause), is but a form of the vital force. The text now goes on to show how the same vital force, divided into five forms according to the different quarters, is unified in the mind. When Śākalya kept silent, Yājñavalkya addressed him, subjecting him to the spell of an evil spirit, as it were. ‘Śākalya,’ said he, ‘have these Vedic scholars made you their instrument for burning charcoals such as fire-tongs?’ The particle ‘svid’ denotes deliberation. He means, ‘They must have done so, but you do not perceive that you are being consumed by me.’