Shloka 29
यदा गृध्येत् परभूतौ नृशंसो विधिप्रकोपाद् बलमाददान: । ततो राज्ञामभवद् युद्धमेतत् तत्र जात॑ वर्म शस्त्र धनुश्च
yadā gṛdhyet parabhūtau nṛśaṁso vidhiprakopād balam ādadānaḥ | tato rājñām abhavad yuddham etat tatra jātaṁ varma śastra dhanuś ca ||
Wenn ein erbarmungsloser Mensch nach fremdem Reichtum giert und, vom Zorn des Geschicks getrieben, beginnt, Macht zu sammeln, um zu bedrücken, dann entsteht unter den Königen der Anlass zum Krieg. Für eben diesen Krieg kamen Panzer, Waffen und der Bogen auf—Geräte, geboren aus dem Streit und aus der Gier, die ihn entfacht.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
War is portrayed as arising when ruthless greed targets another’s wealth and power is amassed for oppression; weapons and armor are thus framed as products of moral failure and conflict rather than ideals in themselves.
Vāyudeva explains to the listener(s) a causal chain: covetousness and cruelty lead a person to gather an army under the pressure of destiny’s wrath, which then creates a situation where kings go to war; the verse concludes by linking the very invention/appearance of martial equipment to such warfare.