Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 13
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
तुष्टा द्विजातयश्चात्र दानैर्बहुविधैरपि । क्षत्रियाश्व सुयुद्धेन श्राद्धैश्षापि पितामहा:
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | tuṣṭā dvijātayaś cātra dānair bahuvidhair api | kṣatriyāś ca suyuddhena śrāddhaiś cāpi pitāmahāḥ |
“ਇੱਥੇ ਨਾਨਾ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਰ ਦੇ ਦਾਨਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਦਵਿਜ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਹਨ; ਉੱਤਮ ਯੁੱਧ ਨਾਲ ਖ਼ਤਰੀ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ; ਅਤੇ ਸ਼੍ਰਾਦ੍ਹ ਕਰਮਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਪਿਤਾਮਹ (ਪੂਰਵਜ) ਵੀ ਪ੍ਰਸੰਨ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਹਨ।”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is fulfilled by giving each sphere of life its proper offering: generosity toward the learned, valor in protection and battle for rulers, and ritual remembrance for ancestors. Social harmony arises when obligations are met through appropriate means rather than a single, uniform act.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes how, in the context of the Aśvamedha-related proceedings, different groups are ‘satisfied’ according to their dharmic expectations—brāhmaṇas by varied gifts, kṣatriyas by exemplary warfare, and ancestors by śrāddha rites—highlighting the comprehensive, multi-layered duties of a king and his sacrificial enterprise.