Shloka 17
Saṃśaptaka-Varūthinī Saṅgrāma — Binding and Counter-Binding (संशप्तक-वरूथिनी-संग्रामः)
अन्यदस्मै वरं दद्यां वैश्यग्रामां क्षतुर्दश । सुस्फीतान् धनसंयुक्तान् प्रत्यासन्नचननोदकान् | अकुतोभयान् सुसम्पन्नान् राजभोज्यांक्षतुर्दश
anyad asmai varaṁ dadyāṁ vaiśya-grāmāṁś caturdaśa | susphītān dhana-saṁyuktān pratyāsanna-cana-nodakān | akuto-bhayān susampannān rāja-bhojyāṁś caturdaśa ||
Sañjaya said: “I would grant him yet another excellent reward—fourteen villages inhabited by Vaiśyas: flourishing, rich in wealth, with pasture and water close at hand, free from fear on every side, fully prosperous, and furnished with royal enjoyments.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rulers use material rewards—land, prosperity, and guaranteed safety—to motivate allegiance. Ethically, it invites reflection on the limits of wealth as an incentive when higher duties and the moral weight of war are at stake.
Sañjaya reports an offer of a superior reward: fourteen prosperous, secure villages with nearby resources. The statement functions as part of a persuasive or compensatory promise within the war-time political setting.