Shloka 16

पाण्डव-वृष्णि-समागमः तथा अश्वमेध-अनुज्ञा | Reunion at the Kuru Court and Authorization of the Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

वेश्मानि समलंचक्ुः पौराश्चापि जनेश्वर । देवतायतनानां च पूजा: सुविविधास्तथा

Transliteration

veśmāni samalañcakuḥ paurāś cāpi janeśvara | devatāyatanānāṃ ca pūjāḥ suvividhās tathā ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说：“噢，民之主宰，城中百姓也各自装饰了自家的宅第。同样，在诸神庙宇之中，也安排了种种祭祀供奉。”此景显示城邦与宗教的齐备：公序与家门同归敬礼，以共同的虔奉与庄重的庆贺来彰显达摩。

Word by Word

• {'veśmāni': 'houses, dwellings', 'samalañcakuḥ': 'they decorated, they adorned', 'paurāḥ': 'townspeople, citizens', 'api': 'also, even', 'janeśvara': 'lord of the people (address to a king)', 'devatā': 'deity, god', 'āyatana': 'abode, shrine, temple', 'devatāyatanānām': 'of the temples/shrines of the deities', 'pūjāḥ': 'acts of worship, offerings, ritual honors', 'suvividhāḥ': 'very diverse, of many kinds', 'tathā': 'likewise, in the same manner'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• paurāḥ (citizens/townspeople)
• devatāyatanāni (temples/shrines)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is expressed not only through royal acts but through collective civic participation—cleanliness, adornment, and temple worship become ethical signs of harmony, gratitude, and reverence toward the divine and the social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

The citizens decorate their homes, and varied forms of worship are arranged in the temples, indicating a city-wide preparation for an auspicious royal-religious occasion in the Ashvamedhika context.