Shloka 59
राजेन्द्र! सभापर्व आरम्भ होनेपर ब्राह्मणोंको पूओं, कचौड़ियों और मिठाइयोंके साथ खीर भोजन कराये ।। आरण्यके मूलफलैस्तर्पयेत्तु द्विजोत्तमान् । अरणीपर्व चासाद्य जलकुम्भान् प्रदापयेत्,वनपर्वमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणोंको फल-मूलोंद्वारा तृप्त करे। अरणीपर्वमें पहुँचकर जलसे भरे हुए घडोंका दान करे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
rājendra! sabhāparva ārambha honepara brāhmaṇoṃ ko pūoṃ, kacoṛiyoṃ aura miṭhāiyoṃ ke sātha khīra bhojana karāye ||
āraṇyake mūlaphalaiḥ tarpayet tu dvijottamān |
araṇīparva cāsādya jalakumbhān pradāpayet |
vanaparva meṃ śreṣṭha brāhmaṇoṃ ko phala-mūloṃ dvārā tṛpta kare; araṇīparva meṃ pahuṃcakara jala se bhare hue ghaṛoṃ kā dāna kare |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O best of kings, when the Sabhā-parvan begins, one should feed the Brahmins with rice-pudding along with fried breads, stuffed pastries, and sweets. In the Āraṇyaka section, one should satisfy the foremost twice-born with forest roots and fruits. And upon reaching the Araṇī section, one should give away water-pots filled with water. Thus, at each stage, the gifts and hospitality are to be suited to place and circumstance, honoring the learned and sustaining life.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches dharmic generosity: honor the learned (Brahmins) through appropriate hospitality and gifts, adapting one’s giving to the setting—rich foods in settled contexts, simple forest produce in wilderness, and life-sustaining water where it is most needed.
Vaiśampāyana instructs a king on prescribed acts of feeding and donation associated with different parvan/sections—Sabhā, Āraṇyaka/Vana, and Araṇī—mapping ethical duties of support and reverence onto the progression of the epic’s contexts.