Mahabharata 3.201.24 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 24
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
देवमाल्यापनयन द्विजोच्छिष्टावमार्जनम्
devamālyāpanayanaṃ dvijocchiṣṭāvamārjanam | nṛpaśreṣṭha! devavigrahopari caḍhe hue candana-puṣpādiko yathāsamaya utāranā, brāhmaṇoṃkī jūṭhana sāpha karanā, unheṃ candana-mālā ādisē alaṅkṛta karanā, unakī sevā-pūjā karanā aura unake pāra ādi aṅgoṃko dabanā—inmeṃse eka-eka kārya godānase bhī adhika mahattva rakhatā hai ||
मार्कण्डेय म्हणाले—हे नृपश्रेष्ठ! देवविग्रहावर अर्पिलेल्या चंदन-पुष्पादींचे यथाकाळी उतार करणे, ब्राह्मणांची उच्छिष्टे स्वच्छ करणे, त्यांना चंदन-माळा आदिंनी अलंकृत करणे, त्यांची सेवा-पूजा करणे आणि पाय व अंगांचे संवाहन करणे—यांपैकी प्रत्येक कर्म एकटेच गोदानापेक्षा अधिक पुण्यदायक आहे.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates humble, hands-on acts of reverent service—toward the deity’s worship and toward Brahmins (cleaning, adorning, attending, massaging)—as exceptionally meritorious, even surpassing the famed merit of godāna. It frames dharma not only as grand gifts but as sustained, respectful service.
Mārkaṇḍeya is instructing a king, praising specific ritual and social duties: timely handling of offerings on the deity’s image and attentive care for Brahmins. The passage functions as ethical counsel, ranking everyday devotional and service-oriented actions as high dharma.
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