Shloka 12
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
अर्जुनेन जिता चेयमृत्विग्भ्य: प्रापिता मया । बन॑ प्रवेक्ष्ये विप्राग्रया विभजध्व॑ महीमिमाम्
arjunena jitā ceyam ṛtvigbhyaḥ prāpitā mayā | vanaṁ pravekṣye viprāgryā vibhajadhvaṁ mahīm imām ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “This land has been conquered by Arjuna and has been delivered by me to the officiating priests. I shall now enter the forest; O foremost of Brahmins, apportion this earth among yourselves.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic transfer of power and wealth: conquest is subordinated to sacrificial duty and rightful giving (dāna) to the officiants, alongside a movement toward renunciation symbolized by entering the forest.
The narrator reports that the territory won through Arjuna’s campaign has been formally handed over to the sacrificial priests, and the speaker declares an intention to withdraw into the forest while instructing the Brahmins to distribute the land.