Shloka 18

जयद्रथ-निग्रहः — Jayadratha Restrained, Shamed, and Released

Devanagari script

यज्ञवाटस्थ ते भूमि: कृष्यतां तेन भारत । तत्र यज्ञो नृपश्रेष्ठ प्रभूतान्न: सुसंस्कृत:

Transliteration

yajñavāṭasthā te bhūmiḥ kṛṣyatāṃ tena bhārata | tatra yajño nṛpaśreṣṭha prabhūtānnaḥ susaṃskṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, biarlah tanah yang berada dalam lingkungan gelanggang korbanmu itu dibajak dan diusahakan dengan bajak tersebut. Maka, wahai raja yang terbaik, korban suci dapat dilaksanakan di sana—tersusun rapi, dengan makanan yang melimpah dan disediakan dengan sempurna.”

Word by Word

यज्ञवाटस्थेsituated in the sacrificial enclosure

तेof you/your

भूमिःland/ground

कृष्यताम्let (it) be cultivated

तेनby that/thereby

भारतO Bharata

तत्रthere

यज्ञःsacrifice

नृपश्रेष्ठO best of kings

प्रभूतान्नःhaving abundant food

सुसंस्कृतःwell-prepared/well-arranged

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (addressed person, Kuru descendant)

yajñavāṭa (sacrificial enclosure)

bhūmi (land/field)

yajña (sacrifice)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Righteous action is supported by practical stewardship: cultivating land and ensuring abundant, well-prepared provisions enables a sacrifice to be performed properly, reflecting a king’s dharma of sustaining ritual order, hospitality, and generosity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana advises that the land within the sacrificial enclosure should be cultivated so that, in that very place, a well-arranged sacrifice can be conducted with plentiful prepared food—ensuring the rite proceeds without scarcity.