Shloka 120
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
अद्रोह: सर्वभूतेषु संतोष: शीलमार्जवम् | तपो दमश्न सत्यं च प्रदानं चेति सम्मितम्
adrohaḥ sarvabhūteṣu santoṣaḥ śīlam ārjavam | tapo damaś ca satyaṃ ca pradānaṃ ceti sammitam |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «L’absence d’hostilité envers tous les êtres, le contentement, la bonne conduite, la droiture, l’ascèse, la maîtrise de soi, la véracité et le don accompli avec foi de ce qui a été acquis justement — chacune de ces vertus est tenue pour égale en mérite aux grands sacrifices.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that inner moral disciplines—non-hostility to all beings, contentment, good character, straightforwardness, austerity, self-restraint, truthfulness, and righteous charity—are each as spiritually efficacious as performing grand ritual sacrifices, emphasizing ethical living as a form of yajña.
Vaiśampāyana, in his ongoing narration of the Ashvamedhika Parva, presents a didactic list of dharmic virtues, reframing ‘sacrifice’ from external ritual grandeur to internal ethical practice and daily conduct.