Mahabharata — Udyoga Parva, Shloka 13
अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)
इस तरह (यात्रा करते हुए) शल्य किसी दूसरे सभाभवनमें गये, जो देवमन्दिरोंके समान प्रकाशित होता था। वहाँ उन्हें अलौकिक कल्याणमय भोग प्राप्त हुए ।।
tataḥ śalyaḥ sabhābhavanaṃ anyad agacchat, yad devamandiravat prakāśamānam āsīt; tatra cāsya alaukikāḥ kalyāṇamayā bhogāḥ prāptāḥ. mene ’bhyadhikam ātmānam avamene puraṃdaram | papraccha sa tataḥ preṣyān prahṛṣṭaḥ kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ ||
Sa pagpapatuloy ng kanyang paglalakbay, pumasok si Śalya sa isa pang bulwagan, nagniningning na parang templo ng mga diyos. Doon ay inialok sa kanya ang mga pambihira at mapalad na kaluguran. Sa labis na tuwa, ang bantog na kṣatriya ay inakalang siya ang pinakamasuwerte; maging si Indra, ang manlilipol ng mga lungsod, ay tila hamak kung ihahambing. Sa gayong pagkalugod, tinanong niya ang kanyang mga tagapaglingkod, sabik na makaalam pa.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how luxurious hospitality and sudden elevation can inflate ego: Śalya’s delight turns into self-exaltation and contempt even for Indra. Ethically, it warns that pleasure and honor can cloud judgment and invite moral vulnerability.
Śalya enters a brilliantly lit assembly-hall and receives extraordinary pleasures and honors. Overjoyed, he feels supremely fortunate and begins to look down even on Indra; in that mood he turns to his attendants and asks them questions, setting up the next narrative exchange.