Shloka 15
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
“राजन! जो द्विज नित्य स्नान करके दोनों समय संध्योपासना और गायत्री-जप करता है वह चतुर होता है। मरुकी साधना-जलका परित्याग करनेवाले तथा निराहार रहनेवालेको स्वर्गलोककी प्राप्ति होती है ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | rājann yo dvijo nityaṃ snānaṃ kṛtvā ubhayataḥ-sandhyopāsanāṃ ca gāyatrī-japaṃ ca karoti sa caturaḥ bhavati | marukī-sādhana-jala-parityāginaḥ tathā nirāhārāṇāṃ svargaloka-prāptiḥ bhavati || sthaṇḍile śayamānānāṃ gṛhāṇi śayanāni ca | cīra-valkala-vāsobhiḥ vasāṃsi ābharaṇāni ca ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「王よ、日々沐浴し、朝夕のサンディヤー礼拝を行い、さらにガーヤトリー（Gāyatrī）を誦する二度生まれ（ドヴィジャ）は、洞察に富み賢明となる。苦行において身の安楽のための水の用を捨てる者、また無食にて生きる者は天界に至る。裸地に臥す者は家と寝台を得、樹皮やぼろを纏う者は、すぐれた衣と装身具を得る。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined daily Vedic practice (bathing, sandhyā worship, and Gāyatrī recitation) cultivates discernment, and that austerities such as fasting and sleeping on the ground generate spiritual merit that ripens into corresponding rewards—heavenly attainment and symbolic ‘returns’ like houses, beds, fine garments, and ornaments.
Vaiśampāyana continues instructing the king within the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic discourse, listing specific observances and austerities and describing their karmic fruits, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s ethic of dharma through regulated conduct and tapas.