Shloka 14
अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
स्त्रियश्व द्विजमुख्येभ्यस्तदा शतसहस्रशः । प्रयत्नशील युधिष्ठिरने भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके उद्देश्यसे द्वैपायन व्यास
vaiśampāyana uvāca | striyaś ca dvijamukhyebhyas tadā śatasahasraśaḥ | prayatnaśīlo yudhiṣṭhireṇa bhagavān śrīkṛṣṇaṃ uddiśya dvāpāyana-vyāsaṃ devarṣi-nāradaṃ tapodhana-mārkaṇḍeyaṃ bhāradvājaṃ yājñavalkyaṃ ca munīn susvādu-bhojanaiḥ bhojitāḥ | bhagavannāma-kīrtanaṃ kṛtvā sa uttamabrāhmaṇebhyo nānāvidhāni ratnāni vastrāṇi grāmān aśvān rathāṃś ca dadau | bahūn brāhmaṇa-śiromaṇīn lakṣaśaḥ kumārī-kanyāś ca adāt || kṛpam abhyarcya ca gurum atha paurapuraskṛtam ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Da wurden Frauen und die Vornehmsten unter den Zweimalgeborenen in unzähligen Hunderttausenden geehrt. Yudhiṣṭhira, mit bedachtsamem Eifer handelnd, reichte köstliche Speisen—und weihte diese Tat dem Herrn Śrī Kṛṣṇa—Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, dem göttlichen Seher Nārada, dem Asketen Mārkaṇḍeya sowie den Weisen Bhāradvāja und Yājñavalkya. Nachdem er den Namen des Herrn im Kīrtana besungen hatte, schenkte er den vortrefflichen Brāhmaṇas mancherlei Juwelen, Gewänder, Dörfer, Pferde und Wagen; und er gab auch in ungeheurer Zahl jungfräuliche Töchter zur Ehe an erhabene Brāhmaṇas. Dann verehrte er gebührend Kṛpa, den ehrwürdigen Lehrer, den Bürger und Volk hochachten.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma expressed as generous giving, reverence to sages and teachers, and devotional orientation (dedicating acts to Kṛṣṇa and chanting His name). Ethical kingship is shown not merely as power but as responsibility: honoring the learned, supporting social institutions, and performing charity with care and sacred intent.
As the Mahāprasthāna (great departure) approaches, Yudhiṣṭhira arranges large-scale hospitality and gifts. He feeds eminent sages, distributes wealth and royal resources to brāhmaṇas, arranges marriages for many maidens, and then honors Kṛpa, the respected preceptor acclaimed by the populace—signaling a deliberate settling of worldly obligations before renunciation.