Shloka 28
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
नाविद्यत तदा विप्रा: संचयस्तन्निबोधत । क्षीणौषधिसमावेशे द्रव्यहीनो5भवत् तदा,ब्राह्मणो! सुनो। एक समय वहाँ बड़ा भयंकर अकाल पड़ा। उन दिनों उन धर्मात्मा ब्राह्मणके पास अन्नका संग्रह तो था नहीं, खेतोंका अन्न भी सूख गया था। अतः वे सर्वथा निर्धन हो गये थे
na avidyat tadā viprāḥ sañcayas tan nibodhata | kṣīṇauṣadhi-samāveśe dravya-hīno 'bhavat tadā brāhmaṇo, suno | eka-samaye tatra mahān bhayaṅkaraḥ akālaḥ apatat | teṣu dineṣu dharmātmanaḥ brāhmaṇasya anna-sañcayo na āsīt, kṣetra-annaṃ ca śuṣyati sma | ataḥ sa sarvathā nirdhano 'bhavat |
Nakula said: “Understand this: at that time the brāhmaṇas had no stored provisions. When the herbs and crops had withered away, that brāhmaṇa became bereft of all resources, O son. Once, a great and dreadful famine struck there. In those days the righteous brāhmaṇa had no reserve of grain, and the produce of the fields had dried up; thus he became completely impoverished.”
नकुल उवाच