Shloka 7

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Public Request for Consent to Enter the Forest (अनुज्ञा-प्रार्थना)

Devanagari script

स श्राद्धयज्ञों ववृते बहुशो धनदक्षिण: | अनेकधनरत्नौघो युधिछिरमते तदा

Transliteration

sa śrāddhayajño vavṛte bahuśo dhanadakṣiṇaḥ | anekadhana-ratnaugho yudhiṣṭhiramate tadā ||

Translation

毗舍婆耶那说道：那施罗陀祭（śrāddha-yajña）屡次举行，以丰厚财物为达克希那（dakṣiṇā，祭礼酬施）而庄严。依当时由提施提罗之意，各类财宝堆积如山，珠玉散施如流——以此彰显王者之责：既抚慰亡灵，亦以正当之施惠及贤者。

Word by Word

• सः: he (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्राद्धयज्ञान्: Śrāddha-sacrifices (funeral/ancestral rites)
• श्राद्धयज्ञान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्धयज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ववृते: chose / undertook
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृ (वृणोति/वृणुते)
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Singular, Ātmanepada

• बहुशः: many times / repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुशस्

• धनदक्षिणाः: having wealth as the sacrificial fee (rich in gifts)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धनदक्षिणा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अनेकधनरत्नौघः: a flood/heap of many kinds of wealth and jewels
• अनेकधनरत्नौघः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनेकधनरत्नौघ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• युधिष्ठिरमते: in accordance with Yudhiṣṭhira’s opinion/decision
• युधिष्ठिरमते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युधिष्ठिरमत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• तदा: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• śrāddha-yajña
• dakṣiṇā (ritual gifts/fees)
• wealth (dhana)
• jewels (ratna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic kingship expressed through śrāddha and dāna: honoring the departed through proper rites and supporting ritual specialists and dependents through generous dakṣiṇā, turning grief and obligation into ethically ordered giving.

What is happening in the narrative?

A śrāddha-yajña is being conducted repeatedly, and—following Yudhiṣṭhira’s approval—large amounts of wealth and jewels are distributed as dakṣiṇā, emphasizing the scale and sincerity of the rite.