Shloka 73
गवां सहस्रानुचरान् दक्षिणामत्यकालयत् | वे कन्याएँ रथ, अश्व एवं हाथियोंपर आरूढ़ थीं। उनके साथ ही उन्होंने सौ-सौ घर, क्षेत्र और गौएँ प्रदान की थीं। राजाने सुवर्णमालामण्डित विशालकाय एक करोड़ गाय-बैलों और उनके सहस्रों अनुचरोंको दक्षिणारूपसे दान किया था
gavāṁ sahasrānucarān dakṣiṇām atyakalayat |
Nārada said: The king arranged an extraordinary dakṣiṇā, granting herds of cattle together with their thousands of attendants. The maidens were mounted on chariots, horses, and elephants; and with them he bestowed hundreds of households, fields, and cows. Thus, adorned with golden garlands, he donated an immense gift—said to amount to a crore of cows and bulls—together with their many attendants, exemplifying royal generosity and the dharmic duty of giving in a rite.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dāna as a central dharmic obligation of kings, especially in the context of yajña: wealth and resources are to be redistributed through properly directed gifts (dakṣiṇā), demonstrating restraint, responsibility, and support of social and ritual order.
Nārada describes a king’s lavish distribution of dakṣiṇā: vast herds of cattle with attendants, along with maidens mounted on vehicles and additional grants of households and land—an account meant to emphasize the scale and intentionality of the king’s sacrificial generosity.