Shloka 9
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 3 — Sātyaki on Inner Disposition, Legitimacy, and Coercive Readiness
वनवासाद् विमुक्तस्तु प्राप्त: पैतामहं पदम् । यद्ययं पापवित्तानि कामयेत युधिषछ्िर:
vanavāsād vimuktas tu prāptaḥ paitāmahaṁ padam | yady ayaṁ pāpavittāni kāmayeta yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Released from the hardships of forest-exile, Yudhiṣṭhira has now attained the ancestral station of authority. Yet if he were to desire wealth gained through sinful means, it would be a grave moral reversal—casting doubt on the very righteousness that legitimizes his claim to rule.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one has a rightful claim and has endured suffering for dharma, the desire for wealth obtained through wrongdoing undermines moral authority; legitimate rule must be grounded in righteous means, not merely inherited position.
Vaiśampāyana comments on Yudhiṣṭhira’s situation after the forest-exile: he has reached the status associated with his forefathers, but the verse raises a moral concern—what if he were to seek ‘sinful wealth,’ contradicting his dharmic identity.