Shloka 21
Parīkṣit-janma-saṃkaṭa and Kuntī’s petition to Vāsudeva (परिक्षिज्जन्मसंकटं कुन्त्याः प्रार्थना च)
एतेष्वादाय तद् द्रव्यं पुनरभ्यर्च्य पाण्डव: । महादेवं प्रति ययौ पुरं नागाह्दयं प्रति,द्वैपायनाभ्यनुज्ञात: पुरस्कृत्य पुरोहितम् । युधिष्ठिरने वहाँ जितना धन खुदवाया था, वह सोलह करोड़ आठ लाख और चौबीस हजार भार सुवर्ण था। उन्होंने उपर्युक्त सब वाहनोंपर धन लद॒वाकर पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिरने पुनः महादेवजीका पूजन किया और व्यासजीकी आज्ञा लेकर पुरोहित धौम्य मुनिको आगे करके हस्तिनापुरको प्रस्थान किया
eteṣv ādāya tad dravyaṃ punar abhyarcya pāṇḍavaḥ | mahādevaṃ prati yayau puraṃ nāgāhṛdayaṃ prati, dvaipāyanābhyanujñātaḥ puraskṛtya purohitam ||
Having loaded that wealth upon those conveyances, the Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) again performed worship and reverence. With the permission of Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), and placing his family priest at the forefront, he set out toward the city of Nāgāhṛdaya, proceeding in devotion to Mahādeva. The passage underscores a king’s ethical duty to sanctify great acts of giving and statecraft through humility, ritual propriety, and deference to spiritual authority.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after immense royal acts involving wealth and power, a righteous king re-centers himself through worship, humility, and obedience to spiritual counsel—showing that dharma requires both material responsibility and reverence for higher moral authority.
Yudhiṣṭhira has the wealth loaded onto the conveyances, performs worship again, receives Vyāsa’s permission, places the royal priest in front, and then departs toward the city called Nāgāhṛdaya, proceeding in devotion to Mahādeva.