Shloka 16
सरस्वतीतीर्थानुक्रमः — बलरामस्य तीर्थयात्रा
Sarasvatī Tīrtha Itinerary — Balarāma’s Pilgrimage
याज्यान् सर्वानुपादाय प्रतिगृहा पशूंस्तत: । सोम पास्यामहे हृष्टा: प्राप्प यज्ञ महाफलम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yājyān sarvān upādāya pratigṛhā paśūṃs tataḥ | somaṃ pāsyāmahe hṛṣṭāḥ prāpya yajña-mahāphalam, rājan |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, setelah mengajak semua para penyelenggara kurban, lalu dari rumah ke rumah memperoleh ternak sebagai daksina, kita akan minum Soma dengan gembira—setelah meraih ganjaran agung dari yajña.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical tension: sacred ritual can be approached as dharma (service and sanctity) or as a strategy for gain. It implicitly cautions that when yajña becomes a tool for profit and indulgence, the spirit of dharma is compromised even if the outer form of ritual is maintained.
A plan is voiced to gather patrons for sacrifices, go from household to household to obtain cattle as sacrificial fees (dakṣiṇā), and then celebrate by drinking Soma, claiming the ‘great fruit’ of the sacrifice. The surrounding story (as reflected in the Gītā Press Hindi) connects this to brothers scheming about wealth through conducting yajñas.