Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
अद्रोह: सर्वभूतेषु संतोष: शीलमार्जवम् | तपो दमश्न सत्यं च प्रदानं चेति सम्मितम्
adrohaḥ sarvabhūteṣu santoṣaḥ śīlam ārjavam | tapo damaś ca satyaṃ ca pradānaṃ ceti sammitam |
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: “Ang hindi pagkapoot sa lahat ng nilalang, pagkakasiya, mabuting asal, pagiging tuwid at walang liko, pagtalima sa tapas, pagpipigil sa sarili at sa mga pandama, pagsasabi ng katotohanan, at ang taimtim na pagbibigay ng yaong matuwid na kinita—bawat isa sa mga birtud na ito ay itinuturing na kapantay sa gantimpala ng mga dakilang handog.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse teaches that inner moral disciplines—non-hostility to all beings, contentment, good character, straightforwardness, austerity, self-restraint, truthfulness, and righteous charity—are each as spiritually efficacious as performing grand ritual sacrifices, emphasizing ethical living as a form of yajña.
Vaiśampāyana, in his ongoing narration of the Ashvamedhika Parva, presents a didactic list of dharmic virtues, reframing ‘sacrifice’ from external ritual grandeur to internal ethical practice and daily conduct.