Shloka 3
अज्ञाप्य सर्वान् नृपतीन् भुक्त्वा चेमां वसुंधराम् । गदामादाय वेगेन पदाति: प्रस्थितो रणे,“निष्पाप संजय! जिसका परिणाम ऐसा दुःखद होता है, उस मानव-जन्मको धिक्कार है! मेरा पुत्र एक दिन ग्यारह अक्षौहिणी सेनाओंका स्वामी था। उसने सब राजाओंपर हुक्म चलाया और सारी पृथ्वीका अकेले उपभोग किया; किंतु अन्तमें उसकी यह दशा हुई कि गदा हाथमें लेकर उसे वेगपूर्वक पैदल ही युद्धमें जाना पड़ा
ajñāpya sarvān nṛpatīn bhuktvā cemāṁ vasuṁdharām | gadām ādāya vegena padātiḥ prasthito raṇe |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Having issued commands to all the kings and having enjoyed this very earth, he then took up his mace and, with haste, set out on foot for battle.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly power and enjoyment are unstable: even one who commands kings and ‘enjoys the earth’ can be brought low by the consequences of conflict and the turning of fortune, revealing the fragility of sovereignty and pride.
The narrator describes a ruler who formerly exercised authority over other kings and possessed the earth, but now—taking up a mace—hurries into battle on foot, highlighting a dramatic fall from imperial command to exposed combatant.