Shloka 226
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 148: Vāsudeva’s Report—Mobilization and the Nīti Sequence
Sāma–Bheda–Daṇḍa
सर्वे निवारयामासुर्देवापेरभिषेचनम् । उन्होंने देवापिके मंगलके लिये सभी आवश्यक कृत्य सम्पन्न कराये; परंतु उस समय सब ब्राह्मणों तथा वृद्ध पुरुषोंने नगर और जनपदके लोगोंके साथ आकर देवापिका राज्याभिषेक रोक दिया
sarve nivārayāmāsur devāper abhiṣecanam |
Vāyu said: “All of them rose together and prevented Devāpi’s consecration (abhiṣeka, the royal anointing). Though the auspicious rites required for Devāpi’s installation had been arranged, at that time the brāhmaṇas and the elder men—joining with the townspeople and the folk of the countryside—came and stopped the coronation.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate kingship is not merely a private ambition or a completed ritual; it depends on communal and moral sanction—especially the assent of elders and custodians of dharma (brāhmaṇas). When society judges a consecration improper, it may be restrained even at the final moment.
As preparations for Devāpi’s royal consecration are underway, a broad coalition—brāhmaṇas, elders, and the people of both city and countryside—arrives and collectively blocks the abhiṣeka, halting his installation.