Shloka 40

राजपूजाविधानम् / Royal Reception Protocols during Āśvamedha Preparations

Devanagari script

गन्धर्वा गीतकुशला नृत्येषु च विशारदा: । रमयन्ति सम तान्‌ विप्रान्‌ यज्ञकर्मान्तरेषु वै

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Gandharvā gītakuśalā nṛtyeṣu ca viśāradāḥ | ramayanti sma tān viprān yajñakarmāntareṣu vai ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: The Gandharvas—skilled in song and expert in dance—would delight those Brahmin priests during the intervals of the sacrificial rites. Thus, even amid the solemn discipline of the Aśvamedha, art was employed in a dharmic way: to refresh the officiants and sustain the ordered flow of the ritual without disrupting its sanctity.

Word by Word

• {'Vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'gandharvāḥ': 'Gandharvas

• celestial musicians', 'gīta-kuśalāḥ': 'skilled in singing/music', 'nṛtyeṣu': 'in dances

• in the art of dance', 'viśāradāḥ': 'expert, proficient, accomplished', 'ramayanti sma': 'used to delight/entertain (habitually, in the past narrative)', 'tān': 'those', 'viprān': 'Brahmins

• learned priests', 'yajña': 'sacrifice

• ritual offering', 'karma': 'rite, prescribed action', 'antareṣu': 'in the intervals

• in the interludes', 'vai': 'indeed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Gandharvas
• vipras (Brahmin priests)
• yajña (sacrificial rite)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic integration of the arts within sacred duty: music and dance, when properly placed, support ritual order by refreshing the officiants and maintaining harmony rather than distracting from the sacrifice.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Aśvamedha proceedings, Gandharvas renowned for singing and dancing perform in the breaks between ritual acts, entertaining the Brahmin priests while the sacrifice continues according to rule.