Shloka 22
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 85: Āṣṭaka–Yayāti संवादः
Merit-Exhaustion, Rebirth, and the Critique of Pride
बस्तानां च गवां चैव शिबिकायास्तथैव च । उड्डपप्लवसंतारो यत्र नित्यं भविष्यति | अराजा भोजशब्दं त्वं तत्र प्राप्स्पसि सान्वय:,जहाँ घोड़े जुते हुए उत्तम रथों, घोड़ों, हाथियों, पीठकों (पालकियों), गदहों, बकरों, बैलों और शिबिका आदिकी भी गति नहीं है, जहाँ प्रतिदिन नावपर बैठकर ही घूमना फिरना होगा, ऐसे प्रदेशमें तू अपनी संतानोंके साथ चला जायगा और वहाँ तेरे वंशके लोग राजा नहीं, भोज कहलायेंगे
bastānāṁ ca gavāṁ caiva śibikāyās tathaiva ca | uḍḍapa-plava-santāro yatra nityaṁ bhaviṣyati || arājā bhoja-śabdaṁ tvaṁ tatra prāpsyasi sānvayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “In that region there will be no passage for goats and cattle, nor for palanquins (śibikā) and the like; there, crossing will always be by rafts and boats. There you, together with your lineage, will attain the designation ‘Bhoja’—not the status of king.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how loss of rightful sovereignty can be expressed not only as political defeat but as a lasting change in social designation for one’s lineage—status and duty (kingship) are portrayed as contingent on conduct and fate, and their removal carries ethical and generational consequences.
Vaiśampāyana reports a pronouncement describing a difficult, water-crossing region where normal land travel (even for animals and palanquins) is obstructed; the addressed person and descendants are foretold to live there without kingship, being known instead by the title ‘Bhoja’.