Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अल्पावशेषा पृथिवी चैत्यैरासीन्महात्मन: । गयस्य यजमानस्य तत्र तत्र विशाम्पते,उन्होंने विश्वकर्माकी बनायी हुई सुवर्णमयी गौएँ देकर विभिन्न दिशाओंसे आये हुए ब्राह्मणोंको संतुष्ट किया था। युधिष्ठिर! भिन्न-भिन्न स्थानोंमें यज्ञ करनेवाले महामना राजा गयके राज्यकी थोड़ी ही भूमि ऐसी बच गयी थी जहाँ यज्ञके मण्डप न हों

Transliteration

alpāvaśeṣā pṛthivī caityair āsīn mahātmanaḥ | gayasya yajamānasya tatra tatra viśāmpate ||

Translation

O lord of the people (Yudhiṣṭhira), so many sacred memorials and sacrificial structures stood everywhere that only a small portion of the earth remained unmarked by them. Such was the greatness of King Gaya, ever engaged as a sacrificer: in place after place he performed rites and satisfied the Brahmins who came from all directions with gifts—especially golden cows fashioned by Viśvakarman—so that his rule became a landscape shaped by generosity, ritual duty, and reverence for the learned.

Word by Word

• {'alpāvaśeṣā': 'having little remaining

• scarcely left over', 'pṛthivī': 'the earth

• land', 'caityaiḥ': 'with caityas

• sacred monuments/shrines/memorials (often connected with holy sites or ritual markers)', 'āsīt': 'was

• existed', 'mahātmanaḥ': 'of the great-souled one (genitive singular)', 'gayasya': 'of Gaya (King Gaya)', 'yajamānasya': 'of the sacrificer

• of one performing a yajña', 'tatra tatra': 'here and there

• in many places', 'viśāmpate': 'O lord of the people (vocative

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Gaya (king)
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Brahmins
• Viśvakarman
• golden cows (suvarṇamayī gāvaḥ)
• caitya (sacred monument/shrine)
• earth/land (pṛthivī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights royal dharma expressed through yajña and dāna: a righteous king sustains social and spiritual order by honoring sacred rites and supporting Brahmins with generous gifts, turning personal wealth into public merit and welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker describes King Gaya’s extraordinary scale of sacrifices and donations. So many ritual sites and sacred markers were established across his realm that very little land remained without a sacrificial pavilion or memorial, illustrating the king’s devotion to ritual duty and generosity.