Shloka 5
Śāṃtanu’s Ideal Rule; Devavrata’s Return; The Satyavatī Marriage Condition and Bhīṣma’s Vow (आदि पर्व, अध्याय ९४)
वसुमानुवाच तांस्त्वं लोकान् प्रतिपद्यस्व राजन् मया दत्तान् यदि नेष्ट: क्रयस्ते । अहं न तान् वै प्रतिगन्ता नरेन्द्र सर्वे लोकास्तव ते वै भवन्तु,वसुमान् बोले--राजन्! यदि आप खरीदना नहीं चाहते तो मेरे द्वारा स्वतः अर्पण किये हुए पुण्यलोकोंको ग्रहण कीजिये। नरेन्द्र! निश्चय जानिये, मैं उन लोकोंमें नहीं जाऊँगा। वे सब आपके ही अधिकारमें रहें
vasumān uvāca tāṁs tvaṁ lokān pratipadyasva rājan mayā dattān yadi neṣṭaḥ krayas te | ahaṁ na tān vai pratigantā narendra sarve lokās tava te vai bhavantu ||
Vasumān sprach: „O König, wenn du sie nicht ‘kaufen’ willst, dann nimm die Welten an, die ich dir geschenkt habe. O Herr der Menschen, wisse gewiss: Ich werde nicht in jene Welten gehen. So sollen all diese Welten wahrhaft die deinen sein.“
प्रतर्दन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes the ethics of merit and ownership: even when merit is treated like a transferable asset, true renunciation is shown by the giver refusing to enjoy the fruit and insisting the recipient alone hold the entitlement. It highlights responsibility in accepting gifts and the moral weight attached to ‘purchased’ or ‘bestowed’ spiritual outcomes.
Vasumān addresses a king and offers him certain ‘worlds’ (realms gained by merit). If the king does not want to buy them, he should simply accept them as a gift. Vasumān then declares he will not go to those realms himself, and that all those worlds should belong to the king.