Shloka 59

Devanagari script

राजेन्द्र! सभापर्व आरम्भ होनेपर ब्राह्मणोंको पूओं, कचौड़ियों और मिठाइयोंके साथ खीर भोजन कराये ।।

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

rājendra! sabhāparva ārambha honepara brāhmaṇoṃ ko pūoṃ, kacoṛiyoṃ aura miṭhāiyoṃ ke sātha khīra bhojana karāye ||

āraṇyake mūlaphalaiḥ tarpayet tu dvijottamān |

araṇīparva cāsādya jalakumbhān pradāpayet |

vanaparva meṃ śreṣṭha brāhmaṇoṃ ko phala-mūloṃ dvārā tṛpta kare; araṇīparva meṃ pahuṃcakara jala se bhare hue ghaṛoṃ kā dāna kare |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O bester der Könige, wenn das Sabhā-parvan beginnt, soll man die Brahmanen mit kṣīra (Milchreis) speisen, dazu mit frittierten Broten, gefülltem Gebäck und Süßigkeiten. Im Āraṇyaka-Abschnitt soll man die vornehmsten Zweimalgeborenen mit Waldwurzeln und -früchten sättigen. Und beim Erreichen des Araṇī-Abschnitts soll man mit Wasser gefüllte Wasserkrüge verschenken. So sind in jeder Phase Gaben und Gastfreundschaft dem Ort und den Umständen gemäß zu wählen, die Gelehrten zu ehren und das Leben zu erhalten.“

Word by Word

• आरण्यके: in the Āraṇyaka (forest) [parva/section]
• आरण्यके: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आरण्यक
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मूलफलैः: with roots and fruits
• मूलफलैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूलफल
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy / should gratify
• तर्पयेत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-liṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तु: but / and (emphatic)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• द्विजोत्तमान्: the best of the twice-born (excellent Brahmins)
• द्विजोत्तमान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अरणीपर्व: the Araṇī-parva (a section named Araṇī)
• अरणीपर्व: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरणीपर्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आसाद्य: having reached / upon arriving at
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√सद्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada

• जलकुम्भान्: water-pots (pitchers filled with water)
• जलकुम्भान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलकुम्भ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• प्रदापयेत्: should cause to be given / should donate
• प्रदापयेत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√दा (causative)
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-liṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada, Causative (ṇic)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• rājendra (the king addressed)
• brāhmaṇas
• dvijottamāḥ
• Sabhā-parvan
• Āraṇyaka
• Vana-parvan
• Araṇī-parvan
• khīra
• mūla-phala
• jala-kumbha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches dharmic generosity: honor the learned (Brahmins) through appropriate hospitality and gifts, adapting one’s giving to the setting—rich foods in settled contexts, simple forest produce in wilderness, and life-sustaining water where it is most needed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana instructs a king on prescribed acts of feeding and donation associated with different parvan/sections—Sabhā, Āraṇyaka/Vana, and Araṇī—mapping ethical duties of support and reverence onto the progression of the epic’s contexts.