Shloka 22
Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)
मन्त्रिण ऊचु. स राजा पृथिवीपाल: सर्वशस्त्रभृतां वर: । बभूव मृगयाशीलस्तव राजन् पिता सदा
mantriṇa ūcuḥ | sa rājā pṛthivīpālaḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | babhūva mṛgayāśīlas tava rājan pitā sadā |
The ministers said: “That king, the protector of the earth and the foremost among all who bore weapons, was ever devoted to the hunt. O King, such indeed was your father—always inclined to that pursuit.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kingship as guardianship (pṛthivīpāla) and martial excellence, while also noting a ruler’s personal habits—here, constant hunting—implying that a king’s inclinations shape his conduct and can become ethically significant in later events.
In response to the king’s inquiry, the ministers describe Janamejaya’s father as a powerful, exemplary warrior-king, yet one who was always fond of hunting, setting context for subsequent developments connected with that habit.