Shloka 23
राजपूजाविधानम् / Royal Reception Protocols during Āśvamedha Preparations
न तत्र कृपण: वक्षिन्न दरिद्रो बभूव ह । क्षुधितो दुःखितो वापि प्राकृतो वापि मानव:
na tatra kṛpaṇaḥ kaścid daridro babhūva ha | kṣudhito duḥkhito vāpi prākṛto vāpi mānavaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: In that sacrificial assembly, no person remained wretched or poor. No man—whether hungry, afflicted with sorrow, or even of the most ordinary and lowly station—was left in want. The rite thus becomes an ethical tableau of royal duty: prosperity is made to flow outward so that suffering and deprivation are removed from all who come within the sphere of the king’s dharmic act.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A dharmic public rite is validated not merely by ritual correctness but by its ethical outcome: the removal of hunger, poverty, and distress through generosity and inclusive care, extending even to the most ordinary or lowly attendees.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the atmosphere at the sacrifice: due to abundant gifts and provisions, no one present remained destitute, hungry, or sorrowful—highlighting the king’s largesse and the social dimension of the yajña.