Shloka 173
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
हिरण्यं दीयतामेभ्यो ब्राह्मणेभ्यो धरास्तु ते । “राजन! तुमने तो यह पृथ्वी मुझे दे ही दी। अब मैं अपनी ओरसे इसे वापस करता हूँ। तुम इन ब्राह्मणोंको सुवर्ण दे दो और पृथ्वी तुम्हारे ही अधिकारमें रह जाय”
hiraṇyaṃ dīyatām ebhyo brāhmaṇebhyo dharāstu te |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Diesen Brāhmaṇas soll Gold gegeben werden; und die Erde soll die deine bleiben. O König! Du hast mir diese Erde bereits geschenkt — nun gebe ich sie aus eigenem Antrieb an dich zurück. Gib diesen Brāhmaṇas Gold, und die Herrschaft über das Land bleibe in deinen Händen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharmic giving: a king should honor brāhmaṇas with appropriate wealth (gold) while maintaining stable governance. It also highlights ethical restraint—returning an excessive or impractical gift (the entire earth) and redirecting generosity into a feasible, socially sustaining form of dāna.
In the context of the Aśvamedha-related gifting, the king has offered the earth as a gift. The recipient (as reported by Vaiśampāyana) returns the earth to the king and instructs him instead to give gold to the assembled brāhmaṇas, so that the king’s rule continues while the ritual generosity is fulfilled.