Text 36] Description of the Descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja
571
iti vyavasitā viprās tasya rājñaḥ prajātaye puro-ḍāśam niravapan śipi-viṣṭāya viṣṇave
iti—thus; vyavasitāḥ—having decided; viprāḥ—the brāhmaṇas; tasya—his; rājñaḥ—of the king; prajātaye—for the purpose of getting a son; puraḥ-ḍāśam—the paraphernalia of sacrifice; niravapan—offered; śipi-viṣṭāya—to the Lord, who is situated in the sacrificial fire; viṣṇave—to Lord Viṣṇu.
TRANSLATION
Thus for the sake of a son for King Anga, they decided to offer oblations to Lord Viṣṇu, who is situated in the hearts of all living entities.
PURPORT
According to sacrificial rituals, animals are sometimes sacrificed in the  yajña  arena. Such animals are sacrificed not to kill them but to give them new life. Such action was an experiment to observe whether the Vedic  mantras  were being properly pronounced. Sometimes small animals are killed in a medical laboratory to investigate therapeutic effect. In a medical clinic the animals are not revived, but in the  yajña  arena, when animals were sacrificed, they were again given life by the potency of Vedic  mantras . The word  śipi-viṣṭāya  appears in this verse.  Śipi  means the flames of the sacrifice. In the sacrificial fire if the oblations are offered into the flames, then Lord Viṣṇu is situated there in the form of the flames. Therefore Lord Viṣṇu is known as  Śipiviṣṭa .
TEXT 36
तस्मात्पुरुष उत्तस्थौ हेममाल्यमलाम्बरः । हिरण्मयेन पात्रेण सिद्धमादाय पायसम् ॥३६॥
tasmāt puruṣa uttasthau hema-māly amalāmbaraḥ hiraṇmayena pātreṇa siddham ādāya pāyasam
tasmāt—from that fire; puruṣaḥ—a person; uttasthau—appeared; hema-mālī—with a golden garland; amala-ambaraḥ—in white garments;