Shloka 42
Śukra’s Ultimatum and Devayānī’s Demand (शुक्र-प्रतिज्ञा तथा देवयानी-वर-याचना)
मामकेन शरीरेण राज्यमेक: प्रशास्तु वः । अहं तन्वाभिनवया युवा काममवाप्लुयाम्,“तुममेंसे कोई एक व्यक्ति मेरा वृद्ध शरीर लेकर उसके द्वारा राज्यशासन करे। मैं नूतन शरीर पाकर युवावस्थासे सम्पन्न हो विषयोंका उपभोग करूँगा”
māmakena śarīreṇa rājyam ekaḥ praśāstu vaḥ | ahaṃ tanvābhinavayā yuvā kāmam avāpluyām ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Einer von euch soll das Reich regieren, indem er meinen gealterten Leib auf sich nimmt. Ich aber werde, nachdem ich einen frischen neuen Körper und erneuerte Jugend erlangt habe, frei die Gegenstände des Begehrens genießen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata: the pull of kāma (personal enjoyment) versus the responsibilities of rājyadharma (the duties of rule). It frames bodily identity as separable from political authority, raising questions about legitimacy, self-control, and the moral cost of pursuing pleasure.
The speaker proposes that one person among the listeners should take on his old body and rule in his stead, while he himself would obtain a new youthful body to indulge in worldly pleasures—an extraordinary offer that sets up a test of values and willingness to bear burdens for the sake of power and duty.