Shloka 106
ययातिदौहित्रपुण्यसमुच्चयः | Yayāti and the Grandsons’ Consolidation of Merit
वाजपेयेन यज्ञेन तर्पयन्ति सुरेश्वरम् । वहाँ प्रतर्दन, वसुमना, औशीनर शिबि तथा अष्टक--ये चार नरेश वाजपेययज्ञके द्वारा देवेश्वर श्रीहरिको तृप्त करते थे
vājapeyena yajñena tarpayanti sureśvaram | tatra pratardanaḥ, vasumanāḥ, auśīnaraḥ śibiḥ tathā aṣṭakaḥ—ime catvāro nareśā vājapeya-yajñena deveśvaraṃ śrīhariṃ tṛptayanti sma |
Narada said: “By the Vājapeya sacrifice they gratify the Lord of the gods. In that tradition, four kings—Pratardana, Vasumanas, Śibi of the Uśīnara line, and Aṣṭaka—used the Vājapeya rite to satisfy Śrī Hari, the divine Lord. Their example shows that royal power is ethically meaningful only when joined to reverence, generosity, and the disciplined offering of one’s prosperity for the welfare upheld by the gods.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal authority and prosperity are to be directed toward dharma through disciplined worship and generous offering; the Vājapeya is presented as a model of kings using power to honor the divine order and cultivate merit.
Nārada cites exemplary kings—Pratardana, Vasumanas, Śibi Auśīnara, and Aṣṭaka—who performed the Vājapeya sacrifice to gratify the divine Lord (Śrī Hari), holding them up as precedents of righteous, devotional kingship.