Shloka 26
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
कलाभिस्तिसूभी राजन् यथाविधि मनस्विनीम् । राजन! तत्पश्चात् याजकोंने विधिपूर्वक अश्वका श्रपण करके उसके समीप मन्त्र
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kalābhis tisṛbhir rājan yathāvidhi manasvinīm | rājan tatpaścāt yājakāḥ vidhipūrvakam aśvakaṃ śrapaṇaṃ kṛtvā tasya samīpe mantra-dravya-śraddhā—etābhiḥ tisṛbhiḥ kalābhiḥ yuktāṃ manasvinīṃ draupadīṃ śāstroktavidhinā upaveśayām āsuḥ | anantaraṃ dvijātibhyaḥ kṣatriyā jahṛire vasu | tathā viṭ-śūdra-saṅghāś ca tathānye mleccha-jātayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O König, nach der gebührenden Ordnung wurde die entschlossene Draupadī an ihren Platz gesetzt, ausgestattet mit den drei ‚Künsten‘: Mantra, rechten Opfergaben und Glauben. Darauf kochten die amtierenden Priester die Opferanteile des Pferdes vorschriftsgemäß, richteten alles in seiner Nähe nach Maßgabe der Śāstra her und setzten die hochgesinnte Draupadī, wie es die Regel gebietet. Dann wurde Reichtum verteilt: nach den Zweimalgeborenen (dvija) empfingen die Kṣatriya Geschenke; ebenso die Gruppen der Vaiśya und Śūdra sowie andere Gemeinschaften, die ihrer Geburt nach als mleccha gelten.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ritual integrity and ethical giving: sacred action is to be performed ‘yathāvidhi’ (as prescribed) with mantra, proper materials, and śraddhā (sincere faith), and the rite culminates in dāna—distribution of wealth—signaling that royal power is ethically completed through generosity and ordered responsibility.
During the Aśvamedha proceedings, the priests complete the prescribed cooking of the horse’s sacrificial portions and formally seat Draupadī near the rite with the three ritual constituents (mantra, offerings, faith). Afterward, gifts/wealth are distributed in a socially ordered sequence: first to the twice-born, then to Kṣatriyas, and also to groups of Vaiśyas, Śūdras, and other communities described as mleccha.