Shloka 41
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
न व | / |! ( ४ 5 ॥ भक्ष्यखाण्डवरागाणां क्रियतां भुज्यतां तथा । पशूनां बध्यतां चैव नान््तं ददृशिरे जना:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | bhakṣya-khāṇḍava-rāgāṇāṃ kriyatāṃ bhujyatāṃ tathā | paśūnāṃ badhyatāṃ caiva nāntaṃ dadṛśire janāḥ ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच— भक्ष्यभोज्यानि च खाण्डवरागश्च बहुधा क्रियमाणो भुज्यमानश्च तत्रासीद्, यथा तस्य प्रमाणस्य जनैर्नान्तो ददृशे। पशवश्च बहवो बद्धा आसन्, तेषामपि संख्यायाः परिमाणं न केनचिद् अवगम्यत।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immense scale of ritual hospitality and provisioning in an Aśvamedha setting, while implicitly foregrounding the moral seriousness of animal-binding within sacrificial practice—abundance and power are shown alongside the ethical burden of ritual means.
During the Aśvamedha-related proceedings, vast quantities of food and khāṇḍava-rāga are being prepared and consumed, and numerous animals are kept bound; observers report that they cannot discern any limit to either the provisions or the animals present.