Shloka 231
धृतराष्ट्रस्य सत्कारः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra Honored in the Post-war Court
मैरेयकाणि मांसानि पानकानि लघूनि च । चित्रान् भक्ष्यविकारांश्व चक्रुस्तस्य यथा पुरा
maireyakāṇi māṁsāni pānakāni laghūni ca | citrān bhakṣyavikārāṁś ca cakrus tasya yathā purā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Mereka menyiapkan baginya, seperti pada masa lampau, minuman memabukkan, hidangan daging, minuman ringan, serta aneka ragam santapan lezat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between past habits of royal indulgence and the later-life ideal of restraint; it implicitly raises an ethical question about whether one should recreate former pleasures when circumstances call for simplicity and detachment.
In the Ashramavāsika setting, attendants arrange food and drink for a central figure, preparing intoxicants, meat, and assorted delicacies in the same manner as earlier courtly life, suggesting a deliberate return to former modes of enjoyment.