Shloka 11
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 58: Yudhiṣṭhira’s dawn rites, royal gifts, and the reception of Kṛṣṇa
नानाभक्ष्यै: प्रियकथा: पयोदधिमहाह्दा: । तस्यासन् यज्ञवाटेषु नद्यः शुभ्रान्नपर्वता:,उन यज्ञोंमें खाने-पीनेकी वस्तुएँ पवित्र और स्वादिष्ट होती थीं। वहाँ दूध-दहीके बड़े- बड़े सरोवर बने हुए थे। वहाँ हजारों और लाखों ब्राह्मण भाँति-भाँतिके खाद्य पदार्थ पाकर प्रसन्नता प्रकट करनेवाली बातें कहते थे। उनकी यज्ञशालाओंमें पीनेयोग्य पदार्थोकी नदियाँ बहती थीं और शुद्ध अन्नके पर्वतोंके समान ढेर लगे रहते थे
nānābhakṣyaiḥ priyakathāḥ payodadhimahāhradāḥ | tasyāsan yajñavāṭeṣu nadyaḥ śubhrānnaparvatāḥ ||
Nārada said: “In his sacrificial enclosures there were many kinds of delightful foods, and people spoke pleasing words in gladness. Vast reservoirs of milk and curd were present. In those yajña-grounds, streams of drinkable refreshments seemed to flow like rivers, and heaps of pure cooked rice stood like mountains.” The passage highlights the ethical ideal of yajña as generous hospitality—abundance directed toward feeding and honoring others, especially the learned and the needy, rather than toward private hoarding.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents yajña as an ethical institution of dharma: prosperity is sanctified when it becomes shared nourishment and respectful hospitality, producing social harmony and grateful speech rather than selfish consumption.
Nārada describes the extraordinary abundance arranged in sacrificial grounds—lakes of milk and curd, rivers of drinkable refreshments, and mountain-like heaps of pure food—evoking a grand yajña where participants rejoice and speak pleasingly.