Shloka 23
अर्हणनिर्णयः
Decision on the Highest Honor at the Assembly
आचार्यमृत्विजं चैव संयुजं च युधिष्ठिर । स्नातकं च प्रियं प्राहुः षडर्घ्यारहान् नृप॑ं तथा,आचार्य, ऋत्विजू, सम्बन्धी, स्नातक, प्रिय मित्र तथा राजा--इन छहोंको अर्घ्य देकर पूजनेयोग्य बताया गया है
ācāryam ṛtvijaṃ caiva saṃyujaṃ ca yudhiṣṭhira | snātakaṃ ca priyaṃ prāhuḥ ṣaḍ-arghyārhān nṛpaṃ tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, the teacher, the officiating priest (ṛtvij), a kinsman or ally, a snātaka (one who has completed Vedic study and the graduation bath), and a dear friend—these five, and likewise a king—are declared to be six persons worthy of being honored with arghya, the formal offering of respect.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A dharmic hierarchy of honor: certain roles sustain society—teacher, priest, kin/ally, learned graduate (snātaka), dear friend, and the king—so they deserve formal respect (arghya). The teaching emphasizes gratitude, social cohesion, reverence for learning and ritual responsibility, and recognition of legitimate authority.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira with a normative rule of conduct, listing six categories of persons who should be received and worshipfully honored with arghya, situating etiquette and moral duty within the broader instruction of Sabha Parva.