Shloka 11
युद्धसंग्रहः
Kurukṣetra Campaign in Summary
विपणापणवान् रम्यो भक्ष्यभोज्यविहारवान्,उस महान् पर्वतपर होनेवाला वह महोत्सव परम मंगलमय प्रतीत होता था। वहाँ दूकानें और बाजार लगी थीं। भक्ष्य-भोज्य पदार्थ यथेष्ट रूपसे प्राप्त होते थे। सब ओर घूमने-फिरनेकी सुविधा थी। वस्त्रों और मालाओंके ढेर लगे थे। वीणा, वेणु और मृदंग बज रहे थे। इन सबके कारण वहाँकी रमणीयता बहुत बढ़ गयी थी। वहाँ दीनों, अन्धों और अनाथोंके लिये निरन्तर सुरा-मैरेयमिश्रित भक्ष्य-भोज्य पदार्थ दिये जाते थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vipaṇāpaṇavān ramyo bhakṣyabhojyavihāravān | sa mahān parvataparaḥ mahotsavaḥ parama-maṅgalamayaḥ pratibhāti | tatra dūkānāni ca bāzārāś ca āsan | bhakṣya-bhojyāni yathā-iṣṭaṃ prāpyante sma | sarvataḥ paribhramaṇa-vihārasya saukaryaṃ āsīt | vastra-mālānāṃ rāśayaḥ saṃnihitāḥ | vīṇā-veṇu-mṛdaṅgāś ca vādyante sma | etaiḥ sarvaiḥ tatra ramyatā bahu vardhitā | tatra dīnānām andhānām anāthānāṃ ca nityam surā-maireya-miśritaṃ bhakṣya-bhojyaṃ dīyate sma |
Vaiśampāyana said: That great festival, set upon the mountain, appeared supremely auspicious. There were shops and marketplaces; food and drink were available in abundance as one wished, and movement and recreation were easy in every direction. Heaps of garments and garlands were laid out, while vīṇā, flute, and mṛdaṅga resounded. By all these, the charm of the place greatly increased. Moreover, for the poor, the blind, and the orphaned, provisions of food and drink—mixed with surā and maireya—were continually distributed.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a ruler’s public prosperity expressed through orderly celebration and generosity: abundance is not merely displayed but also redistributed to society’s most vulnerable (the poor, blind, and orphaned). It frames auspiciousness (maṅgala) as including social care alongside spectacle.
Vaiśampāyana describes a grand mountain-set festival with bustling markets, plentiful food, music, and leisure. Alongside the festivities, continuous distribution of provisions is arranged for disadvantaged people, indicating organized public charity during the celebration.