Shloka 75
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
तस्मात् परिग्रहे भूमेर्यतन्ते कुरुपाण्डवा: । साम्ना भेदेन दानेन दण्डेनैव च भारत,भारत! इस अतृप्तिके ही कारण कौरव और पाण्डव साम, दान, भेद और दण्डके द्वारा सम्पूर्ण वसुधापर अधिकार पानेके लिये यत्न करते हैं
tasmāt parigrahe bhūmer yatante kuru-pāṇḍavāḥ | sāmnā bhedena dānena daṇḍenaiva ca bhārata ||
Therefore, O Bhārata, the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas strive to secure possession of the earth—employing conciliation, sowing division, offering gifts, and, when needed, force. The verse underscores how insatiable desire for dominion drives even great lineages to cycle through every instrument of statecraft, edging steadily toward conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how craving for territorial possession can become insatiable and morally corrosive, pushing even noble houses to deploy every tool of political expediency—conciliation, inducement, division, and force—thereby normalizing escalation toward violence.
Sañjaya, reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, explains the driving motive behind the Kuru–Pāṇḍava struggle: both sides exert themselves to gain control of the realm, cycling through the classic four upāyas (sāman, dāna, bheda, daṇḍa) used in governance and conflict.