Shloka 24

Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share

Devanagari script

उपवासं च दीक्षां च अभिषेकं च पार्थिव । कृत्वा द्वादशवर्षाणि वीरस्थानाद्‌ विशिष्यते

Transliteration

upavāsaṃ ca dīkṣāṃ ca abhiṣekaṃ ca pārthiva | kṛtvā dvādaśavarṣāṇi vīrasthānād viśiṣyate ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—ఓ రాజా! పన్నెండు సంవత్సరాలు ఉపవాసం, దీక్ష, అభిషేకం (నియమబద్ధ స్నానాది) ఆచరించినవాడు వీరస్థానమునకన్నా శ్రేష్ఠమైన గతిని పొందుతాడు.

Word by Word

• उपवासम्: fasting
• उपवासम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपवास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दीक्षाम्: initiation/vow (religious observance)
• दीक्षाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीक्षा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अभिषेकम्: ritual bathing/anointing
• अभिषेकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिषेक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पार्थिव: O king (earth-lord)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having done/observed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: क्त्वा, Active, Absolutive (Gerund)

• द्वादशवर्षाणि: twelve years
• द्वादशवर्षाणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशवर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• वीरस्थानात्: from the state/abode of heroes
• वीरस्थानात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीरस्थान
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• विशिष्यते: is distinguished/excels
• Type: Verb
• Root: विशिष्
• Form: Lat, Present, Atmanepada, Third, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• pārthiva (the king/addressee)
• vīrasthāna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sustained ascetic discipline—fasting, vowed observances, and purificatory rites maintained over a long period—can yield spiritual merit and a superior destiny, even surpassing the merit traditionally attributed to heroic martial valor.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, in a didactic context within the Anuśāsana Parva, explains to a king that long-term religious observances (upavāsa, dīkṣā, abhiṣeka) confer an exalted result, presented as higher than the famed ‘hero’s station’ associated with valor.