Shloka 22

Devanagari script

राजा दिवोदास अन्निहोत्र, यज्ञका अंगभूत हविष्य तथा भोजन भी हर लाये थे। इसीसे वे तिरस्कृत हुए ।। सराजकानि राष्ट्राणि नाभागो दक्षिणां ददौ | अन्‍्यत्र श्रोत्रियस्वाच्च तापसार्थाच्च भारत

Transliteration

sarājakāni rāṣṭrāṇi nābhāgo dakṣiṇāṃ dadau | anyatra śrotriyasvāc ca tāpasārthāc ca bhārata ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—اے بھارت! نابھاگ نے بے راجا ریاستوں کو دَکشِنا (قربانی کی فیس) نہیں دی۔ اس نے صرف دو صورتوں میں استثنا رکھا—اگر حق کسی شروتریہ (وید شناس گھرہست) کا ہو، یا تپسویوں کی کفالت کے لیے ہو۔

Word by Word

सराजकानिhaving (no) king / kingless

राष्ट्राणिkingdoms, realms

नाभागःNābhāga (proper name)

दक्षिणाम्the sacrificial fee, honorarium

ददौgave

अन्यत्रelsewhere, except

श्रोत्रियस्वात्from a learned Vedic man (śrotriya)

चand

तापसार्थात्from the purpose/benefit of ascetics (for ascetics)

चand

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Nābhāga

rāṣṭra (kingdoms)

dakṣiṇā (sacrificial fee)

śrotriya (Vedic scholar)

tāpasa (ascetic)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Gifts and ritual payments (dakṣiṇā) must be given according to dharma—based on rightful eligibility and proper purpose. Even when normal political order is absent, exceptions are justified for sustaining Vedic learning (śrotriya) and ascetic practice (tāpasa).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in Śānti Parva, cites Nābhāga’s rule about distributing dakṣiṇā: he did not allocate it to kingless polities, except where it was due to a qualified Vedic scholar or needed to support ascetics.