Shloka 22
Chapter 15: Counsel on Initiative vs. Renunciation in the Rajasuya Project (सभापर्व, अध्याय १५)
प्रोक्षितानां प्रमृष्टानां राज्ञां पशुपतेर्गृहि । पशूनामिव का प्रीतिर्जीविते भरतर्षभ
prokṣitānāṁ pramṛṣṭānāṁ rājñāṁ paśupater gṛhe | paśūnām iva kā prītir jīvite bharatarṣabha ||
हे भरतश्रेष्ठ! जो राजा रुद्रदेव (पशुपति) को बलि देने हेतु जल छिड़ककर और मार्जन करके शुद्ध किए गए पशुओं की भाँति पशुपति के मन्दिर-गृह में बन्द हैं, उनके लिए अब जीवन में क्या प्रीति रह गई है?
कृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Krishna uses ritual-sacrifice imagery to condemn the dehumanizing treatment of captive kings: mere outward ‘purification’ cannot justify stripping beings of freedom and dignity. The verse presses an ethical point—life without autonomy and honor becomes joyless, and rulers have a duty to prevent such oppression.
Krishna addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, evoking the plight of kings imprisoned and treated like animals prepared for a sacrificial offering to Paśupati (Rudra/Śiva). The statement underscores their despair and the urgency of rescuing them from confinement and impending ritual death.