Shloka 16
सरस्वतीतीर्थानुक्रमः — बलरामस्य तीर्थयात्रा
Sarasvatī Tīrtha Itinerary — Balarāma’s Pilgrimage
याज्यान् सर्वानुपादाय प्रतिगृहा पशूंस्तत: । सोम पास्यामहे हृष्टा: प्राप्प यज्ञ महाफलम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yājyān sarvān upādāya pratigṛhā paśūṃs tataḥ | somaṃ pāsyāmahe hṛṣṭāḥ prāpya yajña-mahāphalam, rājan |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「われらは供犠を施すにふさわしい施主たちをことごとく引き受け、家々を巡ってダクシナー（祭儀の報酬）として家畜を得よう。かくして大いなる祭（ヤジュニャ）の果報を確かなものとし、歓喜してソーマを飲むのだ、王よ。」（文脈上、これは計算ずくの意図を映す。すなわち、祭儀奉仕を富の獲得手段とし、そののち供犠の酒に耽るという、聖なる務めと利得動機との倫理的緊張を孕む。）
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical tension: sacred ritual can be approached as dharma (service and sanctity) or as a strategy for gain. It implicitly cautions that when yajña becomes a tool for profit and indulgence, the spirit of dharma is compromised even if the outer form of ritual is maintained.
A plan is voiced to gather patrons for sacrifices, go from household to household to obtain cattle as sacrificial fees (dakṣiṇā), and then celebrate by drinking Soma, claiming the ‘great fruit’ of the sacrifice. The surrounding story (as reflected in the Gītā Press Hindi) connects this to brothers scheming about wealth through conducting yajñas.