Shloka 56
क्रतुमेनं समाहृत्य पूता: सर्वे दिवं गता: । जो राजाके सुहृद् थे, वे वहाँ इस प्रकार बोले--'यह यज्ञ पिछले सब यज्ञोंसे बढ़कर हुआ है। ययाति, नहुष, मांधाता और भरत भी इस यज्ञ-कर्मका अनुष्ठान करके पवित्र हो सब-के-सब स्वर्गलोकमें गये हैं”
kratum enaṃ samāhṛtya pūtāḥ sarve divaṃ gatāḥ | ye rājñaḥ suhṛdaḥ te tatraivaṃ prāhuḥ—“ayaṃ yajñaḥ pūrvebhyaḥ sarvebhyo yajñebhyo ’dhikaḥ saṃvṛttaḥ | yayātiḥ nahuṣaḥ māndhātā bharataś ca etad-yajña-karma anuṣṭhāya pavitrāḥ sarve svargalokaṃ gatāḥ”
Vaiśampāyana said: Having completed and gathered up the sacrificial rite, all were purified and went to heaven. Then the king’s friends spoke there in this manner: “This sacrifice has surpassed all earlier sacrifices. Yayāti, Nahuṣa, Māndhātṛ, and Bharata too performed this sacrificial observance; purified by it, they all attained the world of heaven.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the traditional ethic that properly performed sacrificial duty (yajña/kratu), undertaken with discipline and purity, is believed to purify the performer and lead to exalted posthumous attainment (svarga). It also frames exemplary kings as models of dharmic ritual conduct.
After the sacrifice is concluded, the participants are described as purified and as attaining heaven. The king’s companions then praise the rite as surpassing earlier sacrifices and cite renowned royal exemplars—Yayāti, Nahuṣa, Māndhātṛ, and Bharata—who likewise performed such sacrificial observances and reached heaven.