Shloka 36
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
विश्वरूपो महादेव: सर्वमेधे महामखे । जुहाव सर्वभूतानि तथैवात्मानमात्मना,सम्पूर्ण विश्व जिनका स्वरूप है, उन महादेवजीने सर्वमैध नामक महायज्ञमें सम्पूर्ण भूतोंकी तथा स्वयं अपनी भी आहुति दे दी थी
viśvarūpo mahādevaḥ sarvamedhe mahāmakhe | juhāva sarvabhūtāni tathaivātmānam ātmanā ||
Arjuna said: “Mahādeva, whose form is the entire universe, once performed the great sacrifice called the Sarvamedha. In that vast rite he offered up all beings—and even his own self—by his own self.” The verse evokes the ethical ideal of total self-offering: the highest worship is not mere ritual display but the surrender of ego and possessiveness for the welfare and wholeness of all.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the pinnacle of sacrifice as complete self-offering: the divine ideal is to relinquish ego and ownership so thoroughly that even one’s own self is symbolically offered for the sake of the whole.
Arjuna cites an exemplum: Mahādeva, described as cosmic in form, performs the Sarvamedha and is said to have offered all beings and even himself in that great rite, underscoring the magnitude of divine renunciation and power.