Shloka 163
Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement
अत्यन्तवनवासाय सृष्टा भैक्ष्याय वा पुन: । 'फिर भी आपने बारंबार कहा है कि “तुम हमलोगोंमेंसे एकको भी मारकर राजा हो जाओ।/ निश्चय ही राजा पाण्डु और कुन्तीदेवीकी संतान राज्य भोगनेकी अधिकारिणी नहीं है। विधाताने इसे अनन्त कालतक वनवास करने अथवा भीख माँगनेके लिये ही पैदा किया है!
atyantavanavāsāya sṛṣṭā bhaikṣyāya vā punaḥ |
Sanjaya said: “They were created only for perpetual life in the forest—or else again for living by alms.” The line conveys a harsh, contemptuous claim used to deny the Pāṇḍavas any rightful share in kingship, framing their destiny as exile and deprivation rather than sovereignty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how adharma can be justified through fatalistic rhetoric: by declaring someone “born for exile or begging,” a speaker attempts to erase their legitimate rights and moral standing. It warns that appeals to ‘destiny’ can become tools of oppression and ethical distortion.
Sañjaya reports a cutting assertion made in the context of the Kurukṣetra conflict: the Pāṇḍavas are portrayed as fit only for forest-life or alms, not for royal power. The statement functions as a polemical denial of their claim to the kingdom and as verbal aggression amid the war narrative.