Shloka 603
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
किमिदानीं ददासि त्वं को हि ते चित्तविभ्रम: । नरेश्वर! पहले महाबली भगवान् श्रीकृष्णको हमारे लिये राज्य देनेसे इनकार करके इस समय क्यों दे रहे हो? तुम्हारे चित्तमें यह कैसा भ्रम छा रहा है?
kim idānīṃ dadāsi tvaṃ ko hi te cittavibhramaḥ | nareśvara! pūrvaṃ mahābalī bhagavān śrīkṛṣṇo ’smākam arthāya rājyaṃ dātuṃ nirākṛtya idānīṃ kasmād dadāsi? tava citte ’yaṃ kīdṛśo bhramaḥ chāyate?
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Why are you offering it now? What confusion has seized your mind, O king? Earlier, the mighty Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa refused to grant us a kingdom; why do you now propose to give it? What kind of delusion has come over your heart?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical vigilance in political decisions: a sudden reversal in granting power should be examined for motive and mental clarity. Yudhiṣṭhira frames the issue as cittavibhrama—confusion that can distort dharmic judgment—urging scrutiny before accepting offers that contradict earlier stances.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king who now offers the Pāṇḍavas a kingdom, despite having earlier refused them—an earlier refusal associated with Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s stance in the cited context. He questions the reason for this change and asks what delusion or confusion has overtaken the king’s mind.