Shloka 25
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Kṛṣṇa’s Rudra-Cosmogony Explanation (सौप्तिक पर्व, अध्याय १७)
तपसाधिगतं चाजन्न॑ प्रजार्थ मे पितामह । ओषध्य: परिवर्तेरन् यथैवं सततं प्रजा:
tapasādhigataṃ cājñaṃ prajārthaṃ me pitāmaha | oṣadhyaḥ parivarteran yathaivaṃ satataṃ prajāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Ô vénérable Aïeul, cet ordre, je l’ai obtenu par l’austérité pour le bien de mes sujets. Que les plantes médicinales se renouvellent sans cesse, afin qu’ainsi le peuple prospère continuellement. »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Authority gained through tapas should be directed toward prajā-hita (the welfare of the people). The verse frames governance as protective and restorative—ensuring resources like healing herbs remain available so society can endure and recover.
The speaker reports a boon-like ordinance acquired through austerity and expresses (or relays) a wish that medicinal herbs continually regenerate, so that the population may be sustained without interruption.