Shloka 15
Dvaītavana: Brahmaghoṣa, Rṣi-saṅgha, and Baka Dālbhyā’s Upadeśa to Yudhiṣṭhira
यच्च तद्रुक्मपात्रीभि्राह्मणेभ्य: सहस्रश: । हियते ते गृहादन्नं संस्कृतं सार्वकामिकम्,एक दिन वह था कि आपके घरसे सहसों ब्राह्मणोंके लिये सोनेकी थालियोंमें सब प्रकारकी रुचिके अनुकूल तैयार किया हुआ सुन्दर भोजन परोसा जाता था
yacca tad rukmapātrībhiḥ brāhmaṇebhyaḥ sahasraśaḥ | hīyate te gṛhād annaṃ saṃskṛtaṃ sārvakāmikam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “And that food—beautifully prepared and suited to every taste—which used to be served from your house to thousands of brāhmaṇas in golden vessels, is now diminished and no longer forthcoming as before.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharma of the householder—especially hospitality and feeding worthy guests—and underscores how worldly prosperity is unstable: when fortune declines, one’s ability to perform customary generosity and social-religious duties can also diminish.
Vaiśaṃpāyana recalls an earlier time of great abundance when food from the household was served to thousands of brāhmaṇas in golden vessels, and contrasts it with the present condition where that provision has decreased—emphasizing a fall from former prosperity.