Shloka 66
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
हत्वा कुरून् महाजन्ये राज्यं प्राप्प धनंजय: । भ्रातृभि: सह कौन्तेयस्त्रीन् मेधानाहरिष्यति,“अर्जुनके जन्मकालमें जब मैं सूतिकागृहमें थी, उस रात्रिमें आकाशवाणीने मुझसे यह कहा था--*भद्रे! तेरा यह पुत्र सारी पृथ्वीको जीत लेगा। इसका यश स्वर्गलोक-तक फैल जायगा। यह महान् संग्राममें कौरवोंका संहार करके राज्यपर अधिकार कर लेगा, फिर अपने भाइयोंके साथ तीन अश्वमेधयज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान करेगा”
hatvā kurūn mahājanye rājyaṃ prāpya dhanaṃjayaḥ | bhrātṛbhiḥ saha kaunteyas trīn medhān āhariṣyati ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Having slain the Kurus in the great war, Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna) will obtain the kingdom. Then that son of Kuntī, together with his brothers, will perform three Aśvamedha sacrifices.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the catastrophic war within a dharmic arc: the kṣatriya’s violent duty culminates in the recovery of rightful sovereignty and is followed by Vedic royal rites (Aśvamedha), symbolizing the re-establishment of social and cosmic order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a prophetic declaration about Arjuna: he will defeat the Kurus in the great war, secure the kingdom, and later—together with his brothers—undertake three major sacrificial performances (understood as Aśvamedhas).