Shloka 26
ऋतुपर्णस्य विदर्भयात्रा-निश्चयः तथा बाहुकस्य हयपरिक्षा (Ṛtuparṇa’s resolve to go to Vidarbha and Bāhuka’s examination of horses)
देवता: पूजयामास ब्राह्मणांश्न यशस्विनी । परेण विधिना देवी दमयन्ती विशाम्पते,राजन! समस्त बन्धु-बान्धवों, दोनों बच्चों, माता-पिता और सम्पूर्ण सखियोंको सकुशल देखकर यशस्विनी देवी दमयन्तीने उत्तम विधिके साथ देवताओं और ब्राह्मणोंका पूजन किया
devatāḥ pūjayāmāsa brāhmaṇāṁś ca yaśasvinī | pareṇa vidhinā devī damayantī viśāmpate rājann |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: O lord of the people, O King—having seen all her relatives and friends, her two children, and her parents safe and well, the illustrious lady Damayantī duly worshipped the gods and honored the brāhmaṇas according to the highest prescribed rites. The episode underscores gratitude after deliverance and the dharmic response to regained welfare: reverence to the divine and generosity toward the learned.
युदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
When safety and prosperity return, dharma is expressed through gratitude: worship of the divine and respectful giving to brāhmaṇas/learned persons, performed in a proper and elevated manner (vidhi).
After being reunited with her family and seeing them unharmed, Damayantī performs formal worship—honoring the gods and the brāhmaṇas—marking a ritual closure to hardship and a public affirmation of dharmic order.