Shloka 15
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
कथं भागहराः प्रोक्ता देवता: क्रतुषु द्विज । किमर्थ चाध्वरे ब्रद्मृन्निज्यन्ते त्रेदिवीकस:
Janamejaya uvāca | kathaṁ bhāgaharāḥ proktā devatāḥ kratuṣu dvija | kimarthaṁ cādhvare brahman ijyante traidivikāḥ ||
Preguntó Janamejaya: «Oh dos veces nacido, ¿cómo es que se dice que los dioses son los legítimos receptores de las porciones sacrificiales en los ritos? ¿Y por qué razón, oh brahmán, se venera en el sacrificio a las deidades celestiales?»
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into ritual legitimacy: why deities are considered entitled to sacrificial portions and why their worship is central to yajña—opening discussion on reciprocity between humans and gods, and the maintenance of cosmic order through prescribed rites.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, King Janamejaya questions a Brahmin sage about the rationale of Vedic sacrifice: the status of gods as ‘share-receivers’ and the purpose of honoring celestial beings within the ritual.