Shloka 8
Gaya’s Seven Aśvamedhas, Payoṣṇī Snāna, and the Śaryāti Sacrifice Locale
Lomaśa–Yudhiṣṭhira Dialogue
अमाद्यदिन्द्र: सोमेन दक्षिणाभिद्धिजातय: । प्रसंख्यानानसंख्येयान् प्रत्यगृह्लनन् द्विजातय:,सात यूपोंमेंसे प्रत्येकके ऊपर सात-सात चषाल थे। युधिष्ठिर! उन यज्ञोंमें जो चमकते हुए सुवर्णमय यूप थे, उन्हें इन्द्र आदि देवताओंने स्वयं खड़ा किया था। राजा गयके उन उत्तम यज्ञोंमें इन्द्र सोमपान करके और ब्राह्मण बहुत-सी दक्षिणा पाकर हर्षोन्मत्त हो गये थे। ब्राह्मणोंने दक्षिणामें जो बहुसंख्यक धनराशि प्राप्त की थी, उसकी गणना नहीं की जा सकती थी
amādyad indraḥ somena dakṣiṇābhir dvijātayaḥ | prasaṅkhyānān asaṅkhyeyān pratyagṛhlan dvijātayaḥ ||
Lomaśa said: Indra became exhilarated by drinking Soma, and the twice-born Brahmins grew joyful through the gifts of sacrificial fees. The wealth they received as dakṣiṇā was so vast that it could not be counted. The passage highlights how King Gaya’s sacrifices were marked by abundance and splendor, yet it also implicitly frames generosity as a dharmic act: the king’s merit is shown not merely in ritual performance but in sustaining the learned and the sacred order through rightful giving.
लोगश उवाच