Shloka 11
जयद्रथ-निग्रहः — Jayadratha Restrained, Shamed, and Released
एवमुक्तस्तु कर्णेन धार्तराष्ट्रो विशाम्पते । पुरोहितं समानाय्य वचन चेदमब्रवीत्
evam uktas tu karṇena dhārtarāṣṭro viśāmpate | purohitaṃ samānāyya vacanaṃ cedam abravīt |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: So von Karṇa angesprochen, ließ Duryodhana, der Sohn Dhṛtarāṣṭras, o Herr der Völker, seinen Hauspriester rufen und sagte: „O Brāhmaṇa, lass für mich das vorzüglichste Opfer, das Rājasūya, in rechter Weise und nach der Vorschrift vollziehen, ausgestattet mit erlesenen dakṣiṇā (Opfergaben als Priesterlohn).“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sacred rites can be invoked to legitimize worldly aims: a ruler seeks prestige through a grand sacrifice and generous fees, raising an ethical question—whether ritual is pursued for dharma and public good or for personal power and rivalry.
After Karṇa’s words of approval/encouragement, Duryodhana summons his royal priest and orders him to arrange the Rājasūya sacrifice properly, with rich dakṣiṇās, signaling his intent to assert sovereignty and status through Vedic ceremony.