Shloka 31
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 148: Vāsudeva’s Report—Mobilization and the Nīti Sequence
Sāma–Bheda–Daṇḍa
मय्यभागिनि राज्याय कथं त्वं राज्यमिच्छसि । अराजपुत्रो हास्वामी परस्वं हर्तुमिच्छसि
mayy abhāgini rājyāya kathaṁ tvaṁ rājyam icchasi | arājaputro hāsvāmī parasvaṁ hartum icchasi ||
Vāyu said: “When I myself had no rightful share in the kingdom, how can you desire the kingdom? One who is not a king’s son cannot claim lordship over that realm. You are seeking to seize what belongs to another.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kingship as a matter of rightful entitlement (bhāga/adhikāra) and condemns the attempt to claim another’s realm as equivalent to taking another’s property. It emphasizes dharma: sovereignty must rest on legitimate claim, not on desire or force.
Vāyudeva delivers a sharp rebuke, arguing that since there was no rightful share for him, the addressee has even less basis to demand the kingdom; lacking royal legitimacy, the attempt to obtain the kingdom is portrayed as wrongful appropriation.