Shloka 34
इच्छतां किल नामाहं जीवाम्येषां महीक्षिताम् । सो<5हं न गणयाम्येतांस्तृणेनापि नराधिपान्,“अहो! शिशुपालके कथनानुसार मैं इन राजाओंकी इच्छापर जी रहा हूँ; परंतु मैं तो इन समस्त भूपालोंको तिनके-बराबर भी नहीं समझता”
icchatāṃ kila nāmāhaṃ jīvāmy eṣāṃ mahīkṣitām | so 'haṃ na gaṇayāmy etāṃs tṛṇenāpi narādhipān |
“Indeed, it seems I live only at the pleasure of these kings. Yet I do not count these rulers as worth even a blade of grass.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates the adharma of arrogance: belittling others—especially peers in a public assembly—undermines dignity, provokes conflict, and violates the ethical restraint expected of rulers and speakers.
In the royal assembly context, a speaker (reported by Vaiśaṃpāyana) voices contempt for the gathered kings, claiming dependence on their will yet dismissing them as worthless—an insult that heightens tension in the Sabha setting.