Shloka 28
अर्जुनस्योत्तरदिग्विजयः
Arjuna’s Northern Conquests and Tribute Collection
यं लेभे वासवाद् राजा वसुस्तस्माद् बृहद्रथ: । बृहद्रथात् क्रमेणैव प्राप्तो बार्हद्रथं नूप
yaṁ lebhe vāsavād rājā vasus tasmād bṛhadrathaḥ | bṛhadrathāt krameṇaiva prāpto bārhadrathaṁ nṛpa, rājan ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “That chariot which King Vasu obtained from Vāsava (Indra) passed from him to Bṛhadratha; and from Bṛhadratha, in due succession, it came to the Bārhadratha (Jarāsandha), O king.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prestige and power-symbols (like a famed chariot) are not permanent possessions; they pass along lines of succession. The verse highlights how royal authority is reinforced by lineage and by association with divine favor, yet remains subject to the flow of time and inheritance.
Vaiśaṃpāyana traces the provenance of a particular chariot: Indra gives it to King Vasu; it then passes to Bṛhadratha, and thereafter, in order, to Bārhadratha—i.e., Jarāsandha—establishing Jarāsandha’s inherited royal stature.