Shloka 2636
Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement
धर्मराजाय कौन्तेय यथा विष्णु: शचीपते: । “कुन्तीकुमार! जैसे भगवान् विष्णुने शचीपति इन्द्रको त्रिलोकीका राज्य प्रदान किया था, उसी प्रकार तुम भी दुर्योधनका वध करके समुद्रोंसहित यह सारी पृथ्वी धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरको समर्पित कर दो
dharmarājāya kaunteya yathā viṣṇuḥ śacīpateḥ | kuntīkumāra yathā bhagavān viṣṇunā śacīpati indrāya trilokyā rājyaṃ pradattaṃ tathā tvam api duryodhanaṃ hatvā samudraiḥ saha sarvāṃ pṛthivīṃ dharmarājāya yudhiṣṭhirāya samarpaya ||
Sañjaya said: “O son of Kuntī, just as Lord Viṣṇu once granted Śacī’s lord, Indra, sovereignty over the three worlds, so you too—having slain Duryodhana—should hand over this entire earth, together with its encircling seas, to Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power is framed as a trust to be placed in the hands of the rightful, dharma-aligned ruler. The verse urges that victory in war should culminate not in personal aggrandizement but in restoring legitimate kingship—here, by offering the conquered earth to Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, supported by a divine precedent involving Viṣṇu and Indra.
Sañjaya reports an exhortation addressed to a son of Kuntī (Kaunteya): after killing Duryodhana, he should formally transfer sovereignty of the entire earth (with its seas) to Yudhiṣṭhira. The instruction is strengthened by an analogy: Viṣṇu once established Indra’s rule over the three worlds, so the Pāṇḍava should establish Yudhiṣṭhira’s rule on earth.