Shloka 76
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
कोटी: सहस््र॑ निष्काणां व्यासाय तु वसुंधराम् । इसके बाद युधिष्ठिरने सब ब्राह्मणोंको विधिपूर्वक एक हजार करोड़ (एक खर्व) स्वर्णमुद्राएँ दक्षिणामें देकर व्यासजीको सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वी दान कर दी
koṭiḥ sahasra-niṣkāṇāṃ vyāsāya tu vasuṃdharām |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Yudhiṣṭhira, having duly honored all the brāhmaṇas according to prescribed rites, bestowed as sacrificial fee a vast sum—one thousand crores (a kharva) of gold coins—and then, as the highest act of renunciation and reverence, gifted the entire earth to Vyāsa. The episode underscores the ethical ideal that royal power and wealth are to be treated as trusts to be relinquished in service of dharma and in gratitude to the sage who preserves and transmits sacred knowledge.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dāna as a pillar of dharma: even supreme sovereignty and wealth are to be offered with humility, especially as dakṣiṇā, honoring spiritual authority and acknowledging that kingship is stewardship rather than possession.
After the Aśvamedha-related rites, Yudhiṣṭhira gives an immense quantity of gold coins as dakṣiṇā to the brāhmaṇas and then donates the entire earth to the sage Vyāsa, as narrated by Vaiśaṃpāyana.