Shloka 26
न तत् पूर्वे जनाश्नक्रुर्न करिष्यन्ति चापरे । गयो यदकरोद् यज्ञे राजर्षिरमितद्युति:
na tat pūrve janāś cakrur na kariṣyanti cāpare | gayo yad akarod yajñe rājarṣir amitadyutiḥ ||
Śamaṭha said: “What King Gaya—the royal sage of immeasurable splendor—accomplished in his sacrificial rite is something that people of former times did not do, nor will later people do. His act stands as an unsurpassed example, pointing to the rare height of selfless, dharma-guided giving and ritual integrity.”
शमठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates an ideal of dharma: certain acts of righteous sacrifice and selfless giving are so rare and pure that they become benchmarks for ethical conduct. It implies that true greatness lies not in power but in unsurpassed adherence to dharma in ritual and generosity.
Śamaṭha is praising King Gaya, describing his performance in a sacrifice as unparalleled—something neither earlier generations achieved nor later generations will replicate—thereby highlighting Gaya’s extraordinary merit and exemplary conduct.