Shloka 40
अध्याय ५६ — च्यवन–कुशिकसंवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Lineage, Conflict, and Transmission
ततो रत्नान्यनेकानि स्त्रियो युग्यमजाविकम् | कृताकृतं च कनकं गजेन्द्राश्चनाचलोपमा:
tato ratnāny anekāni striyo yugyam ajāvikam | kṛtākṛtaṃ ca kanakaṃ gajendrāś ca nācalopamāḥ ||
Lalu, sesuai titah raja, berbagai permata, para perempuan, pasangan hewan penarik beserta kendaraan, kambing dan domba, emas yang telah ditempa maupun yang belum, serta gajah-gajah agung laksana gunung—semuanya berjalan di belakang sang resi; para menteri raja pun turut mengiringi persembahan itu.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a king’s obligation to honor and support ascetics through generous offerings, while also showing that public actions of rulers carry moral and emotional consequences for the whole community—here expressed as collective grief and lamentation.
Following the king’s order, a large procession of valuable gifts—gems, livestock, gold (both worked and unworked), and mountain-like elephants—moves behind a sage, accompanied by the king’s ministers, while the city cries out in distress.