Shloka 11
जयद्रथ-निग्रहः — Jayadratha Restrained, Shamed, and Released
एवमुक्तस्तु कर्णेन धार्तराष्ट्रो विशाम्पते । पुरोहितं समानाय्य वचन चेदमब्रवीत्,राजन! कर्णके इस प्रकार अनुमोदन करनेपर दुर्योधनने अपने पुरोहितको बुलाकर यह बात कही--'ब्रह्मन्! आप मेरे लिये उत्तम दक्षिणाओंसे युक्त क्रतुश्रेष्ठ रजसूयका यथोचित रीतिसे विधिपूर्वक अनुष्ठान करवाइये'
evam uktas tu karṇena dhārtarāṣṭro viśāmpate | purohitaṃ samānāyya vacanaṃ cedam abravīt |
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus addressed by Karṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Duryodhana, O lord of the people, summoned his household priest and spoke these words: “O Brāhmaṇa, have the foremost sacrifice—the Rājasūya—performed for me in the proper manner and according to rule, endowed with excellent sacrificial fees.” The episode shows how royal ambition seeks religious sanction, using Vedic ritual and generosity as instruments to consolidate power and prestige.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sacred rites can be invoked to legitimize worldly aims: a ruler seeks prestige through a grand sacrifice and generous fees, raising an ethical question—whether ritual is pursued for dharma and public good or for personal power and rivalry.
After Karṇa’s words of approval/encouragement, Duryodhana summons his royal priest and orders him to arrange the Rājasūya sacrifice properly, with rich dakṣiṇās, signaling his intent to assert sovereignty and status through Vedic ceremony.