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 ।। मेने5 भ्यधिकमात्मानमवमेने पुरंदरम् । पप्रच्छ स ततः: प्रेष्यान् प्रह्ृष्ट: क्षत्रियर्षभ:,उस समय उन क्षत्रियशिरोमणि नरेशने अपने-आपको सबसे अधिक सौभाग्यशाली समझा। उन्हें देवराज इन्द्र भी अपनेसे तुच्छ प्रतीत हुए। उस समय अत्यन्त प्रसन्न होकर उन्होंने सेवकोंसे पूछा--
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 ||
旅途继续，沙利耶步入另一座会殿，辉耀如天神之庙。其间奉上非凡而吉祥的享用。欢喜之下，这位刹帝利之雄自觉福分无双；纵使破城之因陀罗，与之相比亦显微不足道。正当此时，他兴致勃勃地询问随从，渴望得知更多。
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.