Shloka 11
एकचक्रानिवासप्रस्तावः | Ekacakrā Sojourn—Vyāsa’s Consolation and Directive
शणं तैलं घृतं चैव जतु दारूणि चैव हि । तस्मिन् वेश्मनि सर्वाणि निक्षिपेथा: समन््ततः,“उस घरके चारों ओर सन, तेल, घी, लाह और लकड़ी आदि सब वस्तुएँ संग्रह करके रखना। अच्छी तरह देखभाल करनेपर भी पाण्डवों तथा दूसरे लोगोंको भी इस बातकी शंका न हो कि यह घर आग भड़कानेवाले पदार्थोंसे बना है, इस तरह पूरी सावधानीके साथ उस राजभवनका निर्माण कराना चाहिये। इस प्रकार महल बन जानेपर जब पाण्डव वहाँ जाये, तब उन्हें तथा सुहृदोंसहित कुन्तीदेवीको भी बड़े आदर-सत्कारके साथ उसीमें रखना
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: śaṇaṃ tailaṃ ghṛtaṃ caiva jatu dārūṇi caiva hi | tasmin veśmani sarvāṇi nikṣipethāḥ samantataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Place all around that residence flax, oil, ghee, lac, and timber—indeed, all such materials.” The instruction is part of a covert, unethical design: to stock the house with highly combustible substances while maintaining outward appearances so that the Pāṇḍavas and others do not suspect the building is meant to be set ablaze. It highlights calculated deceit and the deliberate violation of righteous conduct under the guise of hospitality and royal provision.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates adharma through premeditated deception: arranging a seemingly safe dwelling while secretly surrounding it with incendiary materials. Ethically, it warns how power can weaponize hospitality and infrastructure, and how concealment of harmful intent is a grave moral breach.
In the context of the lac-house scheme, instructions are being given to stock and surround a newly built residence with flammable substances—flax, oil, ghee, lac, and wood—so that it can be easily burned later, while keeping the plan hidden from the intended occupants.