Shloka 14
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
इदं नित्यं मनो विप्रा भ्रातृणां चैव मे सदा । “विप्रवरो! अश्वमेध नामक महायज्ञमें पृथ्वीकी दक्षिणा देनेका विधान है; अतः अर्जुनके द्वारा जीती हुई यह सारी पृथ्वी मैंने ऋत्विजोंको दे दी है। अब मैं वनमें चला जाऊँगा। आपलोग चातुर्होत्र यज्ञके प्रमाणानुसार पृथ्वीके चार भाग करके इसे आपसमें बाँट लें। द्विजश्रेष्ठगण! मैं ब्राह्मणोंका धन लेना नहीं चाहता। ब्राह्मणो! मेरे भाइयोंका भी सदा ऐसा ही विचार रहता है” ॥| ११--१३ ह ।। इत्युक्तवति तस्मिंस्तु भ्रातरो द्रौपदी च सा
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
idaṃ nityaṃ mano viprā bhrātṝṇāṃ caiva me sadā |
ity uktavati tasmiṃs tu bhrātaro draupadī ca sā |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O brāhmaṇas, this resolve is constant in my mind, and likewise always in the minds of my brothers: ‘O best of brāhmaṇas, in the great sacrifice called the Aśvamedha, the prescribed sacrificial fee is the gift of the earth. Therefore I have given to the officiating priests this entire earth won by Arjuna. Now I shall depart for the forest. According to the authority of the Cāturhotra rite, divide the earth into four parts and apportion it among yourselves. O foremost twice-born, I do not wish to take wealth that belongs to brāhmaṇas. O brāhmaṇas, my brothers too always hold the same intention.’ When he had spoken thus, his brothers and Draupadī…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic restraint in kingship: a ruler should honor Vedic obligations (dakṣiṇā to priests) and avoid appropriating what is due to brāhmaṇas, even when he possesses imperial power. It also frames renunciation (going to the forest) as a legitimate ethical culmination after fulfilling royal and sacrificial duties.
The narrator reports a royal declaration (contextually Yudhiṣṭhira’s): after Arjuna’s conquests for the Aśvamedha, the entire realm is offered as sacrificial fee to the officiating priests, who are asked to divide it according to the Cāturhotra standard. As this is said, the scene turns to the reactions/presence of his brothers and Draupadī.