Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 78
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
यौवनस्थाश्न बालाश्न वृद्धाश्ष जनमेजय । सहस््रश: पारिषदा: कुमारमवतस्थिरे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yauvanasthāś ca bālāś ca vṛddhāś ca janamejaya |
sahasraśaḥ pāriṣadāḥ kumāram avatasthire ||
ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ— “ਹੇ ਜਨਮੇਜਯ! ਬਾਲਕ, ਜਵਾਨ ਅਤੇ ਬੁਜ਼ੁਰਗ—ਹਜ਼ਾਰਾਂ ਪਾਰਸ਼ਦ—ਕੁਮਾਰ ਦੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਹਾਜ਼ਰ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਖੜੇ ਹੋ ਗਏ।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic social order: people of all ages maintain disciplined readiness and respectful service in a formal assembly, implying that devotion, loyalty, and reverence for learning and authority are ethical virtues.
Vaiśampāyana describes to Janamejaya how thousands of assembly-attendants—children, youths, and elders—take their places and stand in attendance upon a prince, indicating a large, orderly gathering around a central figure.