Shloka 77
संहितापुस्तकान् राजन् प्रयतः सुसमाहित:ः । भक्ष्यैमल्यैश्न पेयैश्व कामैश्न विविधै: शुभ:
saṁhitāpustakān rājan prayataḥ susamāhitaḥ | bhakṣyaiḥ mālyaiś ca peyaiś ca kāmaiś ca vividhaiḥ śubhaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, dengan pengendalian diri dan fikiran yang terhimpun teguh, hendaklah seseorang memuliakan kitab-kitab saṁhitā yang dihimpunkan itu menurut tata cara. Dengan mempersembahkan makanan terbaik, kalungan bunga, minuman, serta pelbagai hadiah yang baik dan diingini, hendaklah ia memuja dengan tumpuan dan kesucian.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverence for sacred learning: texts are to be approached with bodily and mental purity, steady attention, and generous offerings—treating knowledge as a living object of dharma rather than mere material property.
Vaiśampāyana instructs the king on the proper, ritualized honoring of the Mahābhārata’s compiled books (saṁhitās): with disciplined focus, one offers food, garlands, drinks, and other auspicious gifts as part of a formal worship of the manuscripts/recensions.