Shloka 23
सुभद्राहरणम्
Subhadrā-haraṇa: Arjuna’s Taking of Subhadrā and the Dvārakā Assembly’s Response
न दूरे ते गता: क्षुद्रास्तावद् गच्छावहे सह । यावन्निवर्तयाम्यद्य चौरहस्तादू धनं तव,“विप्रवर! शीघ्र आइये। जबतक दूसरोंके धन हड़पनेकी इच्छावाले वे क्षुद्र चोर दूर नहीं चले जाते, तभीतक हम दोनों एक साथ वहाँ पहुँच जायँ। मैं अभी आपका गोधन चोरोंके हाथसे छीनकर आपको लौटा देता हूँ
na dūre te gatāḥ kṣudrās tāvad gacchāvahe saha | yāvan nivartayāmy adya caurahastād ū dhanaṃ tava |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Those petty thieves have not yet gone far. Come—let us go together at once, before they get away. Today I will recover your wealth from the hands of the thieves and return it to you.” The passage frames swift, righteous action: the intent is not violence for its own sake, but the restoration of another’s property and the checking of greed-driven wrongdoing.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds dharma by condemning theft and endorsing prompt, purposeful action to restore another’s rightful property. The ethical emphasis is on protection and restitution rather than personal gain.
The speaker urges immediate pursuit because the thieves have not gone far, proposing that the two of them go together and that he will retrieve the stolen wealth from the thieves’ hands and return it to its owner.