Shloka 9
शबलाप्रार्थना–वसिष्ठप्रतिज्ञा
The Request for Śabalā and Vasiṣṭha’s Refusal
गवां शतसहस्रेण दीयतां शबला मम।रत्नं हि भगवन्नेतद्रत्नहारी च प्रार्थिव:।।1.53.9।।तस्मान्मे शबलां देहि ममैषा धर्मतो द्विज।
gavāṃ śatasahasreṇa dīyatāṃ śabalā mama |
ratnaṃ hi bhagavann etad ratnahārī ca prārthivaḥ || 1.53.9 ||
tasmān me śabalāṃ dehi mamaiṣā dharmato dvija |
एक लाख गौओं के बदले मेरी शबला मुझे दे दीजिए। भगवन्, यह तो रत्न है और राजा रत्नों का अभिलाषी होता है। इसलिए, हे द्विज, धर्मतः मेरी शबला मुझे दे दीजिए।
"I shall give you a hundred thousand cows in exchange for Sabala. O! Respectable one! this cow is a gem. A king (along) has a right on jewels, O Brahmin, for that reason, Sabala rightfully belongs to me. Therefore, give this cow".
FAQs
It raises a dharma-conflict: royal power and desire versus rightful ownership and the limits of kingship over a brahmin’s sacred property.
Viśvāmitra offers an exchange and argues that Śabalā, as a ‘jewel,’ should belong to a king.
Not virtue but a tested trait: ambition and entitlement, presented under the language of dharma—showing how ‘dharma-claims’ can be misused.