Shloka 15
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
कथं भागहराः प्रोक्ता देवता: क्रतुषु द्विज । किमर्थ चाध्वरे ब्रद्मृन्निज्यन्ते त्रेदिवीकस:,द्विजश्रेष्ठ देवताओंको यज्ञोंमें भाग लेनेका अधिकारी क्यों बताया गया है? ब्रह्मन! स्वर्गलोकमें निवास करनेवाले देवताओंकी ही यज्ञमें किसलिये पूजा की जाती है?
Janamejaya uvāca | kathaṁ bhāgaharāḥ proktā devatāḥ kratuṣu dvija | kimarthaṁ cādhvare brahman ijyante traidivikāḥ ||
Janamejaya fragte: „O Zweimalgeborener, wie kommt es, dass die Götter in den Riten als die rechtmäßigen Empfänger der Opferanteile bezeichnet werden? Und aus welchem Grund, o Brahmane, werden die himmlischen Gottheiten im Opfer verehrt?“
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into ritual legitimacy: why deities are considered entitled to sacrificial portions and why their worship is central to yajña—opening discussion on reciprocity between humans and gods, and the maintenance of cosmic order through prescribed rites.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, King Janamejaya questions a Brahmin sage about the rationale of Vedic sacrifice: the status of gods as ‘share-receivers’ and the purpose of honoring celestial beings within the ritual.