Shloka 22

Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)

Devanagari script

अथवाभ्यर्थनामिन्द्रो न करिष्यति कामत:

Transliteration

athavābhyarthanām indro na kariṣyati kāmataḥ

Translation

Andernfalls wird Indra die erbetene Gabe nicht aus bloßer Laune gewähren. Die Aussage betont, dass selbst eine mächtige Gottheit nicht als willkürlich handelnd dargestellt wird; Bitten werden am Maß des Angemessenen und der sittlichen Ordnung (Dharma) geprüft, nicht allein erfüllt, weil jemand sie begehrt.

Word by Word

अथवाor else

अभ्यर्थनाrequest, entreaty

इन्द्रःIndra

नnot

करिष्यतिwill do, will make

कामतःat will; as desired; voluntarily

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Indra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power—human or divine—should not be exercised merely according to personal desire. Even Indra is framed as bound by a higher standard of propriety (dharma), so a request is not automatically fulfilled just because it is asked.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana remarks that a petition made to Indra will not necessarily be granted simply on the basis of wish; the line functions as a caution that outcomes depend on legitimacy and right order, not on arbitrary favor.