Shloka 12
Adhyāya 64 — Omens, Conch Signals, and Arjuna’s Assault on the Elephant Division
तेषु यज्ञेष्वम्बरीषो दक्षिणामत्यकालयत् | राज्ञां शतसहस्राणि दश प्रयुतयाजिनाम्,उन यज्ञोंमें राजा अम्बरीषने दस लाख यज्ञकर्ता ब्राह्मणोंको दक्षिणाके रूपमें दस लाख राजाओंको ही दे दिया था
teṣu yajñeṣv ambarīṣo dakṣiṇām aty akālayat | rājñāṁ śata-sahasrāṇi daśa prayuta-yājinām ||
Nārada said: “In those sacrificial rites, King Ambarīṣa arranged an extraordinary gift-fee (dakṣiṇā): to the ten lakh Brahmins who had performed ten lakh sacrifices, he granted—by way of dakṣiṇā—ten lakh kings themselves.” The statement underscores the ideal of lavish, duty-bound generosity in yajña, where the patron’s wealth and power are subordinated to the ethical obligation of honoring sacred service.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic generosity in the context of yajña: a righteous patron must honor sacred labor with fitting dakṣiṇā, even to an extraordinary degree, showing that power and wealth are meant to serve religious and ethical obligations.
Nārada recounts a traditional exemplum about King Ambarīṣa’s immense sacrificial gifts: during certain sacrifices, he provided an astonishing dakṣiṇā—so vast that it is described as giving vast numbers of kings to the sacrificer-Brahmins—emphasizing the scale of royal patronage and merit-making.