Shloka 103
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
अर्थी भवन्तमुपागतो5स्मीति स एनमभिवाद्योवाच भगवन् पौष्य: खल्वहं किं करवाणीति,“राजन! मैं याचक होकर आपके पास आया हूँ।” राजाने उन्हें प्रणाम करके कहा --“भगवन्! मैं आपका सेवक पौष्य हूँ; कहिये, किस आज्ञाका पालन करूँ?”
arthī bhavantam upāgato ’smīti sa enam abhivādya uvāca—bhagavan, pauṣyaḥ khalv ahaṃ; kiṃ karavāṇīti.
“I have come to you as a supplicant,” he said. The king respectfully saluted him and replied, “Revered sir, I am indeed Pauṣya, your servant—tell me, what shall I do for you?” The exchange frames kingship as service: the ruler’s power is ethically bound to humility, hospitality, and readiness to fulfill a righteous request.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous king treats authority as service: he greets the petitioner with reverence and offers himself for lawful assistance, embodying humility, hospitality, and readiness to uphold dharma.
A petitioner (Rāma, as indicated by the speaker tag) approaches the king saying he has come seeking help. King Pauṣya respectfully salutes him and asks what task or command he should carry out.