Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Kṛṣṇa’s Rudra-Cosmogony Explanation (सौप्तिक पर्व, अध्याय १७)
तपसाधिगतं चाजन्न॑ प्रजार्थ मे पितामह । ओषध्य: परिवर्तेरन् यथैवं सततं प्रजा:
tapasādhigataṃ cājñaṃ prajārthaṃ me pitāmaha | oṣadhyaḥ parivarteran yathaivaṃ satataṃ prajāḥ ||
قال فَيْشَمْبايَنَة: «يا أيّها الجدُّ الموقَّر، إنّ هذا الأمر قد نِلْتُهُ بالزُّهد والتقشّف لخير رعيّتي. فلتتجدّد الأعشابُ الدوائيّة مرّةً بعد مرّة، لكي يزدهر الناسُ على الدوام بهذه الطريقة.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Authority gained through tapas should be directed toward prajā-hita (the welfare of the people). The verse frames governance as protective and restorative—ensuring resources like healing herbs remain available so society can endure and recover.
The speaker reports a boon-like ordinance acquired through austerity and expresses (or relays) a wish that medicinal herbs continually regenerate, so that the population may be sustained without interruption.