Shloka 123
अर्जुनस्य प्रतिघातः — श्रुताय्वच्युतायुवधः तथा गजसैन्यविदारणम्
Arjuna’s Counterstroke: Slaying of Śrutāyu and Acyutāyu; Breaking the Elephant Corps
समागम्य द्विजै: सार्ध सेन्द्रैदेवै: समुच्छित: । इन्द्र आदि देवताओंने वहाँ ब्राह्मणोंक साथ मिलकर राजा भरतके यज्ञमें सोनेके बने हुए सौ व्याम (चार सौ हाथ) लंबे सुवर्णमय यूपका आरोपण किया
samāgamya dvijaiḥ sārdhaṃ sendrair devaiḥ samucchritaḥ | indra-ādi-devatābhir tatra brāhmaṇaiḥ saha rājñaḥ bharatasya yajñe suvarṇamayaḥ śata-vyāmaḥ (catuḥśata-hasta-pramāṇaḥ) hiraṇmaya-yūpaḥ samāropitaḥ |
Nārada said: Having assembled there together with the twice-born Brahmins, the gods—led by Indra—raised and set up at King Bharata’s sacrifice a golden sacrificial post (yūpa), a hundred vyāmas in length (about four hundred cubits). The episode proclaims the sanctity of a yajña rightly performed and the honor of righteous kingship: when ritual stands aligned with dharma, divine powers themselves uphold the order of sacrifice.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
When royal authority and ritual action are aligned with dharma, they are portrayed as receiving divine support; the golden yūpa symbolizes the public, elevated nature of righteous sacrifice and the social-ethical order it sustains.
Nārada describes a past event at King Bharata’s sacrifice where Indra and other gods, together with Brahmins, erect an extraordinarily long golden sacrificial post (yūpa), highlighting the grandeur and legitimacy of the rite.