Shloka 23
दानपात्रापात्र-निर्णयः / Determining Worthy Gifts, Recipients, and Permissible Food
हतशिष्टाश्व॒ राजान: कृत्स्नं चैव समागतम् । चातुर्वर्ण्य महाराज राष्ट्र ते कुरुजाड्गलम्
hataśiṣṭāśva rājānaḥ kṛtsnaṃ caiva samāgatam | cāturvarṇya mahārāja rāṣṭra te kurujāṅgalam ||
Vāyu said: “O great king, the surviving rulers—those spared from death—and the entire populace of the four social orders have all assembled. This whole realm of Kuru-jāṅgala now stands present before you, ready to serve.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous kingship as grounded in social cohesion and consent: after devastation, the surviving rulers and the fourfold community gather to acknowledge and serve the king, implying the ethical duty to protect and govern the whole realm without partiality.
Vāyudeva addresses a great king, reporting that the remaining kings and the entire population representing the four varṇas have assembled; the whole Kuru-jāṅgala realm is present before him, signaling collective submission, restoration of order, and readiness for governance after conflict.