Shloka 11
विराट उवाच ददामि ते हन्त वरान् महानसे तथा च कुर्या: कुशलं प्रभाषसे । विराटके यहाँ पाण्डव न चैव मन्ये तव कर्म यत् सम॑ समुद्रनेमिं पृथिवीं त्वमहसि,विराट बोले--बल्लव! मैं प्रसन्नतापूर्वक तुम्हें अभीष्ट वर देता हूँ। तुम अपनेको भोजन बनानेके काममें कुशल बताते हो, तो मेरी पाकशालामें रहकर वही करो। किंतु मैं यह कार्य तुम्हारे योग्य नहीं समझता। तुम तो समुद्रसे घिरी हुई समूची पृथ्वीका शासन करनेके योग्य हो
virāṭa uvāca | dadāmi te hanta varān mahānase tathā ca kuryāḥ kuśalaṃ prabhāṣase | virāṭake ihā pāṇḍava na caiva manye tava karma yat samam | samudranemiṃ pṛthivīṃ tvam arhasi ||
Virāṭa said: “Come then—I grant you the boons you desire, O great cook. Since you speak of yourself as skilled, stay in my royal kitchen here and do that work. Yet, O Pāṇḍava, I do not think such a task is fitting for you. You are worthy to rule the entire earth, girdled by the ocean.”
विराट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights discernment about adhikāra (fitness for a role): outward occupation may be adopted due to circumstance, but true worth and capacity—especially for righteous leadership—remain. A king should recognize merit and not reduce a capable person to an unworthy station.
King Virāṭa speaks to a Pāṇḍava living incognito as a cook (Ballava). He offers desired boons and invites him to serve in the royal kitchen, yet simultaneously expresses that such work does not suit him and that he seems fit to rule the whole earth.