Shloka 13
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 58 — Saṃjaya’s Audience and Kṛṣṇa’s Deterrent Counsel (संजय-प्रवेशः कृष्णवाक्यं च)
सत्कृतश्नान्नपाना भ्यामासीनो लब्धसत्क्रिय: । अज्जलिं मूर्थ्नि संधाय तौ संदेशमचोदयम्
satkṛtaś cānnapānābhyām āsīno labdhasatkriyaḥ | añjaliṃ mūrdhni saṃdhāya tau saṃdeśam acodayam ||
Sañjaya sprach: Nachdem man mich gebührend mit Speise und Trank geehrt hatte und ich, nach angemessener Gastfreundschaft, Platz genommen hatte, legte ich die gefalteten Hände ehrerbietig an mein Haupt und überbrachte jenen beiden deine Botschaft.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic conduct in diplomacy: a messenger should be received with proper hospitality, and the messenger should convey the message with humility and formal respect, keeping personal emotion secondary to duty.
Sañjaya, after being honored with food and drink and seated appropriately, performs a respectful gesture (añjali placed on the head) and then communicates the king’s message to the two persons present, marking a formal moment of diplomatic transmission.