Shloka 3
Śārṅgakānāṃ Avināśaḥ (Why the Śārṅga Birds Were Spared) | शार्ङ्गकानामविनाशः
अर्थलुब्धान् न व: पार्थो मन्यते सात्वतान् सदा । स्वयंवरमनाधृष्यं मन्यते चापि पाण्डव:,'पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुन यह जानते हैं कि सात्वतवंशके लोग सदासे ही धनके लोभी नहीं हैं, अतः धन देकर कन्या नहीं ली जा सकती। साथ ही पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनको यह भी मालूम है कि स्वयंवरमें कनन््याके मिल जानेका पूर्ण निश्चय नहीं रहता, अतः वह भी अग्राह्म ही है
arthalubdhān na vaḥ pārtho manyate sātvātān sadā | svayaṃvaram anādhṛṣyaṃ manyate cāpi pāṇḍavaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Pārtha (Arjuna) does not regard you Sātvatas as people who are always greedy for wealth; therefore he does not think a maiden can be obtained by payment. And the son of Pāṇḍu also considers a svayaṃvara to be unreliable—since success there is not assured—hence he deems that course, too, unfit to be relied upon.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical discernment in choosing means: Arjuna refuses to assume mercenary motives in the Sātvatas (so he does not treat marriage as a purchase), and he also avoids a path whose outcome is uncertain (svayaṃvara), implying that honorable ends should be pursued through appropriate and dependable means.
Vaiśampāyana explains Arjuna’s assessment of two possible ways of obtaining a bride: he rejects the idea of winning her by wealth because the Sātvatas are not thought to be money-driven, and he also dismisses reliance on a svayaṃvara because it offers no guaranteed success.