Mahabharata 1.175.19 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 175, Shloka 19
पाण्डवानां पाञ्चालगमनम्
The Pāṇḍavas’ Journey toward Pāñcāla and News of the Svayaṃvara
ब्राह्मणेषु कुतो वीर्य प्रशान्तेषु धृतात्मसु । अर्बुदेन गवां यस्त्वं न ददासि ममेप्सितम्
brāhmaṇeṣu kuto vīryaṁ praśānteṣu dhṛtātmasu | arbudena gavāṁ yas tvaṁ na dadāsi mamepsitam ||
Viśvāmitra sprach: „Welche Kraft kann bei den Brāhmaṇas sein — bei Männern, die ruhig und selbstbeherrscht sind? Und doch verweigerst du mir, was ich begehre: ein volles Arbuda an Kühen.“
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts outward force (vīrya) with inner discipline (praśānti, dhṛtātmatā). It highlights a moral tension: judging spiritual people as powerless can lead to arrogance and unethical pressure, while true power may lie in restraint and spiritual authority rather than physical might.
Viśvāmitra challenges a brāhmaṇa (or brāhmaṇa community) by implying that calm, self-controlled brāhmaṇas lack “strength,” and he presses his demand for an enormous gift—an arbuda of cows—complaining that his request is being refused.
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