Shloka 11
Droṇānīka-praveśa: Arjuna’s respectful appeal to Droṇa and renewed advance toward Jayadratha (द्रोणानीकप्रवेशः)
सौवर्णा पृथिवीं कृत्वा य इमां मणिशर्कराम् | विप्रेभ्य: प्राददद् राजा सो<श्चवमेथे महामखे
sauvarṇāṃ pṛthivīṃ kṛtvā ya imāṃ maṇiśarkarām | viprebhyaḥ prādadad rājā so ’śvamedhe mahāmakhe ||
Nārada said: “That king who, as it were, turned the earth into gold and made it like gravel of jewels—he bestowed this wealth upon the brāhmaṇas at the great sacrifice of the Aśvamedha. The verse highlights royal generosity directed toward the learned and the sacred, presenting lavish giving as a dharmic act when performed in a solemn rite.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises dāna performed in a sacred context: a ruler’s immense wealth becomes dharmically meaningful when offered to worthy recipients (vipras) during a major yajña, emphasizing generosity, ritual responsibility, and support of sacred learning.
Nārada describes an exemplary king whose riches are so vast that the earth seems ‘golden’ and strewn with ‘jewel-pebbles’; during a grand Aśvamedha rite, the king distributes this wealth to brāhmaṇas, illustrating royal munificence as a celebrated ideal.