Shloka 23
Sātyaki’s Call for Intervention and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Vow-Bound Restraint (सात्यकिवाक्यं—धर्मराजस्य धैर्यनिश्चयः)
वायुदेव उवाच असंशयं माधव सत्यमेतद् गृह्नीम ते वाक्यमदीनसत्त्व । स्वाभ्यां भुजाभ्यामजितां तु भूमिं नेच्छेत् कुरूणामृषभ: कथंचित्,भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण बोले--उदारहृदय मधुकुलभूषण सात्यके! तुम्हारी यह बात सत्य है, इसमें तनिक भी संशय नहीं है। हम तुम्हारे इन वचनोंको स्वीकार करते हैं; परंतु ये कुरुश्रेष्ठ युधिष्ठिर किसी भी ऐसी भूमिको किसी तरह लेना नहीं चाहेंगे, जिसे इन्होंने अपनी भुजाओंद्वारा न जीता हो
vāyudeva uvāca: asaṁśayaṁ mādhava satyam etad gṛhṇīma te vākyam adīna-sattva | svābhyāṁ bhujābhyām ajitāṁ tu bhūmiṁ necchet kurūṇām ṛṣabhaḥ kathaṁcit ||
Vāyudeva said: “O Mādhava, this is unquestionably true. O you of undaunted spirit, I accept your words. Yet the bull among the Kurus would never, under any circumstance, desire to take land that he has not won by the strength of his own arms.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate kingship should rest on dharmic means and personal merit: the righteous ruler (Yudhiṣṭhira) refuses to accept territory not won through rightful effort, emphasizing honor, accountability, and the ethics of sovereignty.
Vāyudeva addresses Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa), affirms the truth of his counsel, and then adds that the foremost Kuru—Yudhiṣṭhira—would not agree to take any land that has not been conquered by his own strength, highlighting Yudhiṣṭhira’s principled restraint.