Shloka 124
Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ निष्कान् सदसि प्रतते नृपः । तुभ्यं निष्क तुभ्यं निष्कमिति क्रोशन्ति वै द्विजा:
brāhmaṇebhyo dadau niṣkān sadasi pratate nṛpaḥ | tubhyaṃ niṣka tubhyaṃ niṣkam iti krośanti vai dvijāḥ ||
Vāyu dit : «Dans la cour royale réunie au complet, le roi distribua des niṣkas (niṣka : ornements ou pièces d’or) aux brahmanes. Et les “deux-fois-nés” ne cessaient de crier : “Un niṣka pour toi ! Un niṣka pour toi !” — tandis que les dons étaient répartis.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic ideal of royal generosity: a king gains merit and social harmony by publicly supporting learned Brahmins through dāna (gift-giving), especially in a formal assembly where the act becomes a model of righteous conduct.
Vāyu describes a scene in which a king, seated in a fully convened court, distributes niṣkas as gifts to Brahmins. The recipients (or the assembled twice-born) loudly call out the distribution—‘to you a niṣka, to you a niṣka’—conveying the public, ceremonial nature of the donation.