Shloka 26
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
षष्ठे काले सदा विप्रो भुड्धक्ते तैः सह सुव्रत: । षष्ठे काले कदाचित् तु तस्याहारो न विद्यते
ṣaṣṭhe kāle sadā vipro bhṛtyabhakte taiḥ saha suvrataḥ | ṣaṣṭhe kāle kadācit tu tasyāhāro na vidyate ||
Nakula said: “At the sixth appointed time, the brāhmaṇa—steadfast in his vow—regularly ate the food set aside for the servants, together with them. Yet on one occasion, when that sixth time arrived, no food at all was available for him.”
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined living and ethical endurance: a virtuous person keeps a vow and shares in the simplest fare with dependents, yet must also face moments of scarcity without abandoning righteousness.
Nakula describes a brāhmaṇa who customarily eats at a fixed “sixth” time, taking the servants’ portion along with them; on one particular day, when that time comes, there is no food available for him.