Mahabharata 9.37.60 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 37, Shloka 60
Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative
भक्ष्यं भोज्यं च विविध ब्राह्मणेभ्य: प्रदाय च । ततः प्रायाद् बलो राजन् पूज्यमानो द्विजातिभि:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | bhakṣyaṃ bhojyaṃ ca vividhaṃ brāhmaṇebhyaḥ pradāya ca | tataḥ prāyād balo rājan pūjyamāno dvijātibhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having presented the Brahmins with various kinds of foods—both edibles and prepared dishes—Balarāma then departed, O king, honored and reverently received by the twice-born. The scene underscores the ethic of hospitality and gift-giving (dāna) as a dharmic act performed even amid the larger turmoil of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic conduct through dāna and respectful hospitality toward Brahmins: giving food and receiving/returning honor appropriately. It presents generosity and ritual-social propriety as virtues maintained even in a war narrative.
Balarāma gives various foods to Brahmins; after being honored by the twice-born, he departs from that place.
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