Shloka 7
Gaya’s Seven Aśvamedhas, Payoṣṇī Snāna, and the Śaryāti Sacrifice Locale
Lomaśa–Yudhiṣṭhira Dialogue
स्वयमुत्थापयामारसुर्देवा: सेन्द्रा युधिष्ठिर । तेषु तस्य मखाग्रयेषु गयस्य पृथिवीपते:,सात यूपोंमेंसे प्रत्येकके ऊपर सात-सात चषाल थे। युधिष्ठिर! उन यज्ञोंमें जो चमकते हुए सुवर्णमय यूप थे, उन्हें इन्द्र आदि देवताओंने स्वयं खड़ा किया था। राजा गयके उन उत्तम यज्ञोंमें इन्द्र सोमपान करके और ब्राह्मण बहुत-सी दक्षिणा पाकर हर्षोन्मत्त हो गये थे। ब्राह्मणोंने दक्षिणामें जो बहुसंख्यक धनराशि प्राप्त की थी, उसकी गणना नहीं की जा सकती थी
svayam utthāpayām āsuḥ devāḥ sendrā yudhiṣṭhira | teṣu tasya makhāgryeṣu gayasya pṛthivīpateḥ saptayūpeṣu pratyekaṃ sapta-sapta caṣālāḥ āsan | yudhiṣṭhira! teṣu yajñeṣu dīptān suvarṇamayān yūpān indrādayo devāḥ svayam eva samutthāpitavantaḥ | rājñaḥ gayasya teṣv uttameṣu yajñeṣu indraḥ somapānaṃ kṛtvā brāhmaṇāś ca bahudakṣiṇāṃ prāpya harṣonmattā abhavan | brāhmaṇair dakṣiṇāyāṃ prāptāyā bahusaṅkhyā dhanarāśeḥ gaṇanā na śakyate |
Lomaśa said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, the gods—Indra at their head—raised the sacrificial posts themselves for King Gaya in his foremost sacrifices. On each of the seven posts there were seven caṣālas (the shining finials). In those rites the yūpas gleamed, made of gold, and were set up by the deities with their own hands. At King Gaya’s excellent sacrifices, Indra, having drunk the Soma, and the Brahmins, having received abundant gifts, became intoxicated with joy. The mass of wealth obtained as sacrificial fees was so vast that it could not even be counted.”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates yajña and dāna as pillars of dharma: a righteous king’s lavish, properly conducted sacrifice supports the priestly order, pleases the gods, and generates immense merit—so much so that divine beings are portrayed as actively assisting.
Lomaśa recounts King Gaya’s extraordinary sacrifices: seven golden yūpas crowned with caṣālas are set up, the gods (led by Indra) themselves raise them, Indra drinks Soma, and the Brahmins receive such abundant dakṣiṇā that the wealth is beyond counting.