Shloka 22
Chapter 15: Counsel on Initiative vs. Renunciation in the Rajasuya Project (सभापर्व, अध्याय १५)
प्रोक्षितानां प्रमृष्टानां राज्ञां पशुपतेर्गृहि । पशूनामिव का प्रीतिर्जीविते भरतर्षभ
prokṣitānāṁ pramṛṣṭānāṁ rājñāṁ paśupater gṛhe | paśūnām iva kā prītir jīvite bharatarṣabha ||
Kṛṣṇa sprach: „O Stier unter den Bhāratas, welche Freude kann jenen Königen jetzt noch am Leben bleiben—mit Wasser besprengt und rein gewischt wie Tiere, die für ein Opfer bereitet werden—während sie im Haus-Tempel des Paśupati eingeschlossen sind?“
कृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Krishna uses ritual-sacrifice imagery to condemn the dehumanizing treatment of captive kings: mere outward ‘purification’ cannot justify stripping beings of freedom and dignity. The verse presses an ethical point—life without autonomy and honor becomes joyless, and rulers have a duty to prevent such oppression.
Krishna addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, evoking the plight of kings imprisoned and treated like animals prepared for a sacrificial offering to Paśupati (Rudra/Śiva). The statement underscores their despair and the urgency of rescuing them from confinement and impending ritual death.