Shloka 26
अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)
समेत्य च महाबाहु: शल्य: पाण्डुसुतैस्तदा । पाद्यमर्घ्य च गां चैव प्रत्यगृह्नाद् यथाविधि
sametya ca mahābāhuḥ śalyaḥ pāṇḍusutais tadā | pādyam arghyaṃ ca gāṃ caiva pratyagṛhṇād yathāvidhi ||
Daraufhin nahm Śalya, der Mächtigarmige, nachdem er den Söhnen Pāṇḍus begegnet war, nach rechter Sitte das Wasser zum Füßewaschen, die Ehrengabe (arghya) und auch eine Kuh entgegen. Die Szene betont die bindende Kraft der Gastfreundschaft und rituellen Ordnung, durch die Beziehungen und Verpflichtungen feierlich anerkannt werden.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma expressed as proper hospitality and ritual decorum: honoring a guest with prescribed offerings creates and confirms social bonds and obligations, and accepting them signifies recognition of that relationship.
Śalya meets the Pāṇḍavas and, following customary procedure, receives the guest-honoring items—pādya, arghya, and a cow—marking a formal, ritually sanctioned reception.