Shloka 8
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
प्रतिगृह्म धरां राजन् व्यास: सत्यवतीसुत:
pratigṛhya dharāṃ rājan vyāsaḥ satyavatīsutaḥ
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „O König, nachdem Vyāsa—Sohn der Satyavatī—die Erde (die Landschenkung) angenommen hatte, handelte er demgemäß.“ Die Zeile betont das ethische Gewicht, ein königliches Geschenk anzunehmen: Ist es empfangen, bindet es den Empfänger an Rechtschaffenheit und Selbstzucht, zumal wenn der Geber ein Herrscher und der Empfänger ein verehrter Weiser ist.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic seriousness of accepting a gift—especially land—from a king. Formal acceptance (pratigraha) creates a moral obligation to use the gift rightly and to remain free from greed or misuse, reflecting the ideal conduct expected of a sage.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Vyāsa, identified by the epithet “son of Satyavatī,” accepts a grant of land/earth from the king. The statement functions as a narrative pivot: the acceptance marks a completed ritual-social transaction and sets up whatever action or disposition follows from Vyāsa’s receiving the gift.