Shloka 33
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
“मूढ ब्राह्मण! मैंने बारह वर्षोंतक अत्यन्त घोर ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करके हिमालयकी घाटीमें रहकर बड़ी भारी तपस्याके द्वारा जिसे प्राप्त किया था, मेरे समान व्रतका पालन करनेवाली रुक्मिणीदेवीके गर्भसे जिसका जन्म हुआ है, जिसके रूपमें साक्षात् तेजस्वी सनत्कुमारने ही मेरे यहाँ अवतार लिया है, वह प्रद्युम्न मेरा प्रिय पुत्र है। परंतु रणभूमिमें जिसकी कहीं तुलना नहीं है, मेरे इस परम दिव्य चक्रको कभी उस प्रद्युम्नने भी नहीं माँगा था, जिसकी आज तुमने माँग की है ।। रामेणातिबलेनैतन्नोक्तपूर्व कदाचन । न गदेन न साम्बेन यदिदं प्रार्थितं त्वया,“अत्यन्त बलशाली बलरामजीने भी पहले कभी ऐसी बात नहीं कही है। जिसे तुमने माँगा है, उसे गद और साम्बने भी कभी लेनेकी इच्छा नहीं की
mūḍha brāhmaṇa! mayā dvādaśa-varṣāṇi atyanta-ghora-brahmacarya-vrataṃ pālayitvā himālaya-guhāyāṃ nivasan mahā-tapasā yaḥ prāptaḥ, mamaiva vrata-samācāriṇyā rukmiṇyā devyā garbhāt yasya janma, yasya rūpe sākṣāt tejasvī sanatkumāra eva mama gṛhe avatīrṇaḥ, sa pradyumno mama priyaḥ putraḥ. kintu raṇabhūmau yasya kvacid api tulanā nāsti, etat mama parama-divyaṃ cakraṃ kadācit sa pradyumno 'pi na yācitavān, yad adya tvayā prārthitam. rāmeṇātibalena etan nokta-pūrvaṃ kadācana; na gadena na sāmbena yad idaṃ prārthitaṃ tvayā.
“Foolish brahmin! After observing an exceedingly severe vow of brahmacarya for twelve years and dwelling in the Himalayan valleys, I obtained by great austerity the son who was born from the womb of Queen Rukmiṇī, herself steadfast in vows—one in whose very form the radiant Sanatkumāra has, as it were, descended into my house. That Pradyumna is my beloved son. Yet even he—peerless on the battlefield—has never asked me for this supremely divine discus, the very thing you ask for today. Even the mighty Balarāma has never spoken such a request; nor have Gada or Sāmba ever desired what you are seeking.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even legitimate power and sacred possessions are not to be demanded presumptuously. The passage contrasts humility and restraint within a noble lineage (Pradyumna, Balarāma, Gada, Sāmba) against an improper request, implying that ethical conduct includes knowing what may be asked for and what must be earned or bestowed.
A speaker rebukes a brahmin petitioner for asking for a supremely divine discus. To show the impropriety, he cites that even his most illustrious and battle-peerless son Pradyumna—born of Rukmiṇī and associated with the divine sage Sanatkumāra—never requested it, nor did Balarāma, Gada, or Sāmba.