Shloka 41
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
(गत्वोत्तरदिशं वीरो विजित्य युधि पार्थिवान् । धनरत्नौघधममितमानयिष्यति पाण्डव: ।।) एतस्य भुजवीर्येण खाण्डवे हव्यवाहन: । मेदसा सर्वभूतानां तृप्तिं यास्यति वै पराम्,“वीर अर्जुन उत्तर दिशामें जाकर वहाँके राजाओंको युद्धमें जीतकर असंख्य धन- रत्नोंकी राशि ले आयेगा। इसके बाहुबलसे खाण्डववनमें अग्निदेव समस्त प्राणियोंके मेदका आस्वादन करके पूर्ण तृप्ति लाभ करेंगे
gatvottaradiśaṃ vīro vijitya yudhi pārthivān | dhana-ratnaugham amitām ānayiṣyati pāṇḍavaḥ || etasya bhuja-vīryeṇa khāṇḍave havyavāhanaḥ | medasā sarva-bhūtānāṃ tṛptiṃ yāsyati vai parām ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Jener Held, der Pāṇḍava, wird in die nördliche Himmelsrichtung ziehen und, nachdem er die Könige im Kampf besiegt hat, eine unermessliche Flut an Reichtum und Juwelen heimbringen. Und durch die Kraft seiner Arme wird im Khāṇḍava-Wald der Feuergott Agni wahrlich höchste Sättigung erlangen, indem er das Fett aller Lebewesen verzehrt.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how human prowess and royal conquest can become instruments for larger, even unsettling, cosmic purposes: Arjuna’s victories yield wealth, while the same strength enables Agni’s grim ‘satiation’ in Khāṇḍava—inviting reflection on the ethical ambiguity of power and the far-reaching consequences of martial success.
Vaiśampāyana foretells that the Pāṇḍava hero (implicitly Arjuna) will travel north, defeat regional kings, and return with vast riches; additionally, his might will facilitate Agni’s fulfillment in the Khāṇḍava forest, foreshadowing the Khāṇḍava episode where Fire seeks satisfaction through burning and consuming living beings.