Shloka 3
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Grief, Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation, and Vyāsa’s Admonition (युधिष्ठिरशोक-निवारणोपदेशः)
यजस्व विविधैर्यज्ञैर्बहुभि: स्वाप्तदक्षिणै: । देवांस्तर्पय सोमेन स्वधया च पितृनपि
yajasva vividhair yajñair bahubhiḥ svāptadakṣiṇaiḥ | devāṁs tarpay somena svadhayā ca pitṝn api ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Therefore, perform many kinds of sacrifices, richly endowed with proper fees and gifts. With Soma, satisfy the gods; and with the svadhā-offering, satisfy the ancestors as well.” The counsel frames righteous kingship as sustained by reciprocal duty—honoring divine and ancestral obligations through well-conducted ritual generosity.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reciprocal dharma: a ruler (or householder) sustains cosmic and social order by performing well-appointed sacrifices, giving proper dakṣiṇā, and honoring both gods (through Soma offerings) and ancestors (through svadhā rites).
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates an instruction urging the performance of multiple, properly funded sacrifices, emphasizing the traditional twofold obligation—propitiating the devas and the pitṛs—so that prosperity and legitimacy are maintained through dharmic ritual action.