Shloka 116

Devanagari script

जुहाव धृतराष्ट्रस्य राष्ट्र नरपते: पुरा । वे मुनिश्रेष्ठ उन मृत पशुओंके ही मांस काट-काटकर उनके द्वारा राजा धृतराष्ट्रके राष्ट्रकी ही आहुति देने लगे

Transliteration

juhāva dhṛtarāṣṭrasya rāṣṭraṁ narapateḥ purā | te muniśreṣṭhā mṛta-paśūnāṁ hi māṁsaṁ kāṭa-kāṭa-kṛtvā tair eva rājñaḥ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya rāṣṭrasyaivāhutiṁ dātuṁ pravavṛtuḥ |

Translation

毗舍波耶那说：往昔，在为持国王（Dhṛtarāṣṭra）之国土所行的一场祭仪中，诸位最上牟尼开始为那王国本身献上供献——只取已死之兽的肉，切成块块投入祭火。

Word by Word

• जुहाव: offered (in sacrifice)
• जुहाव: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: हु (जुहोति)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथम, एकवचन

• धृतराष्ट्रस्य: of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• धृतराष्ट्रस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• राष्ट्रम्: kingdom, realm
• राष्ट्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राष्ट्र
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• नरपतेः: of the king
• नरपतेः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरपति
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• पुरा: formerly, earlier
• पुरा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• rāṣṭra (the kingdom/realm)
• muniśreṣṭhāḥ (foremost sages)
• mṛta-paśu (dead animals)
• māṁsa (flesh/meat)
• āhuti (fire-offering/oblation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical tension in ritual and governance: even when the stated aim is collective welfare (the kingdom), the chosen means can be morally compromised. It invites reflection on dharma as not merely achieving ends, but maintaining purity and right conduct in the process.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana recounts an earlier event in which eminent sages perform oblations connected to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s realm, using pieces of meat from already-dead animals. The detail emphasizes the unsettling nature of the rite and frames it as a significant, morally charged episode.