Shloka 62
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
न त्वमद्य महीं दातुमीश: कौरवनन्दन । आच्छेत्तुं वा बलादू राजन् स कथं दातुमिच्छसि,जो शत्रुओंसे आक्रान्त हो, ऐसा कौन राजा किसीको भूमि देनेकी इच्छा करेगा? कौरवनन्दन नरेश! अब न तो तुम किसीको पृथ्वी दे सकते हो और न बलपूर्वक उसे छीन ही सकते हो। ऐसी दशामें तुम्हें भूमि देनेकी इच्छा कैसे हो गयी?
na tvam adya mahīṁ dātum īśaḥ kauravanandana | ācchattuṁ vā balād rājann sa kathaṁ dātum icchasi | yo śatrubhir ākrāntaḥ sa ko rājā kasyacid bhūmiṁ dātum icchet | kauravanandana nareśa adya na tvaṁ kasyacid pṛthivīṁ dātuṁ śaknoṣi na ca balena hartuṁ śaknoṣi | evaṁ sthite kathaṁ te bhūmidāne icchā jāyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O son of the Kuru line, today you have no power to grant land, nor to seize it by force. A king who is himself assailed by enemies—what ruler in such a condition would even think of giving territory to another? O Kaurava prince, since you can neither bestow the earth nor wrest it away, how has this desire to give land arisen in you now?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s promises and gifts must be grounded in actual sovereignty and responsibility. When a king is under enemy pressure and lacks control over territory, offering land becomes ethically and practically hollow; true royal duty requires realism, accountability, and protection of the realm before making grants.
Yudhiṣṭhira challenges a Kaurava prince’s stated intention to give land. He argues that, in the present wartime crisis—when the speaker is beset by enemies and lacks the power either to grant territory or to seize it—such an offer is incoherent, and he questions the sudden emergence of this desire.