Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, 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 |
वैशम्पायन बोले—सब प्राणियों के प्रति अद्रोह, मन में संतोष, शील-सदाचार और सरलता, तपस्या, मन-इन्द्रियों का संयम, सत्य और न्यायोपार्जित वस्तु का श्रद्धापूर्वक दान—इनमें से प्रत्येक गुण महायज्ञ के समान फलदायक माना गया है।
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.