Shloka 69
Śārṅgakānāṃ Avināśaḥ (Why the Śārṅga Birds Were Spared) | शार्ङ्गकानामविनाशः
यस्मिज्जाते महातेजा: कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर: अयुतं गा द्विजातिभ्य: प्रादान्निष्कांश्व भारत,भारत! उसके जन्म लेनेपर महातेजस्वी कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरने ब्राह्मगोंको दस हजार गौएँ तथा बहुत-सी स्वर्णमुद्राएँ दानमें दीं
yasmij jāte mahātejāḥ kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | ayutaṃ gā dvijātibhyaḥ prādān niṣkānś ca bhārata ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: When the radiant Kuntī’s son Yudhiṣṭhira was born, O Bhārata, he bestowed upon the twice-born (brāhmaṇas) ten thousand cows and also many niṣkas (gold pieces). Thus was the prince’s birth at once marked by generosity and dharmic kingship.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dāna as a hallmark of dharmic rulership: wealth is to be used for sustaining society and honouring learning and ritual responsibility (the dvija/brāhmaṇas). Yudhiṣṭhira’s greatness is signalled not by conquest but by generosity and auspicious conduct from the very beginning.
In the account of Yudhiṣṭhira’s birth, the narrator states that large gifts were given—ten thousand cows and gold niṣkas—to brāhmaṇas, marking the birth with royal largesse and religious-social celebration.