Shloka 96
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
निष्क्रयो दीयतां महां ब्राह्मणा हि धनार्थिन: । “नृपश्रेष्ठ! तुम्हारी दी हुई इस पृथ्वीको मैं पुनः तुम्हारे ही अधिकारमें छोड़ता हूँ। तुम मुझे इसका मूल्य दे दो; क्योंकि ब्राह्मण धनके ही इच्छुक होते हैं (राज्यके नहीं)”
niṣkrayo dīyatāṃ mahān brāhmaṇā hi dhanārthinaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Let a great ransom (price) be paid. For brāhmaṇas seek wealth. O best of kings, I return this earth that you have given and place it again under your authority; give me its value, because brāhmaṇas desire wealth—not dominion.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores an ethical distinction between spiritual authority and political power: a brāhmaṇa should not cling to sovereignty, but may accept wealth as a rightful means of support. It also frames gifts as requiring propriety—what is given should align with the recipient’s dharma, and when a gift is unsuitable (like dominion for a brāhmaṇa), its value may be taken instead.
In the Ashvamedhika context, a king offers the earth/kingdom as a grand gift. The brāhmaṇa recipient declines to retain political control, formally returning the earth to the king’s jurisdiction and asking instead for its monetary equivalent (niṣkraya/mūlya), stating that brāhmaṇas seek wealth for sustenance rather than rule.