Shloka 42

चित्रसेन-समागमः / The Engagement with Citrasena and the Gandharvas

Devanagari script

अष्टागग्रे ब्राह्मणानां सहस््राणि सम नित्यदा । भुज्जते रुक्मपात्रीषु युधिष्ठिरनिवेशने,“पहले महाराज युधिष्ठिरके महलमें प्रतिदिन आठ हजार ब्राह्मण सोनेकी थालियोंमें भोजन किया करते थे

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | aṣṭa-sahasrāṇi brāhmaṇānāṃ samagre nityadā bhujjate rukma-pātrīṣu yudhiṣṭhira-niveśane |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: In former days, at King Yudhiṣṭhira’s residence, a full eight thousand brāhmaṇas would eat there every day, served in golden vessels. The statement recalls the king’s established practice of generous, orderly hospitality—an emblem of royal dharma expressed through daily support of learned guests and dependents.

Word by Word

अष्टeight

अग्रेin front/at the head (i.e., as a leading count)

ब्राह्मणानाम्of Brahmins

सहस्राणिthousands

समम्equally/together (in one group)

नित्यदाalways; every day

भुञ्जतेthey eat/partake

रुक्मपात्रीषुin golden vessels/plates

युधिष्ठिरनिवेशनेin Yudhiṣṭhira's residence/palace

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

brāhmaṇas

golden plates/vessels (rukma-pātra)

Yudhiṣṭhira’s residence (niveśana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights rāja-dharma expressed through consistent generosity: a righteous king sustains learned and needy members of society daily, not sporadically, and does so with respect and proper provision—hospitality as an ethical duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana recalls Yudhiṣṭhira’s former prosperity and established household practice: every day eight thousand brāhmaṇas were fed at his residence, served in golden vessels, underscoring the scale of his court’s charity and order.