Shloka 231
धृतराष्ट्रस्य सत्कारः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Honored in the Post-war Court
मैरेयकाणि मांसानि पानकानि लघूनि च । चित्रान् भक्ष्यविकारांश्व चक्रुस्तस्य यथा पुरा
maireyakāṇi māṁsāni pānakāni laghūni ca | citrān bhakṣyavikārāṁś ca cakrus tasya yathā purā ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: أعدّوا له، كما في الأيام الخالية، الأشربة المُسكِرة، وأطباق اللحم، والمشروبات الخفيفة، وألوانًا شتّى من المآكل الشهية—كأنهم يبعثون من جديد هيئة المتعة الملكية القديمة، حتى في هذا المقام المتأخر الزاهد.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between past habits of royal indulgence and the later-life ideal of restraint; it implicitly raises an ethical question about whether one should recreate former pleasures when circumstances call for simplicity and detachment.
In the Ashramavāsika setting, attendants arrange food and drink for a central figure, preparing intoxicants, meat, and assorted delicacies in the same manner as earlier courtly life, suggesting a deliberate return to former modes of enjoyment.