Shloka 45
Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)
स मनसा विचिन्त्य मासि पूर्णे शिष्यमब्रवीत्,“मन-ही-मन सोच-विचार करते हुए जब एक मास पूरा हो गया, तब वे अपने शिष्यसे बोले--'आत्रेय! जाकर राजासे कहो कि यदि काम पूरा हो गया हो तो गुरुजीके दोनों वाम्य अश्व लौटा दीजिये।” शिष्यने जाकर राजासे यही बात दुहरायी। तब राजाने उसे उत्तर देते हुए कहा--“यह सवारी राजाओंके योग्य है। ब्राह्मणोंको ऐसे रत्न रखनेका अधिकार नहीं है। भला, ब्राह्मणोंकों घोड़े लेकर क्या करना है? अब आप सकुशल पधारिये”
sa manasā vicintya māsi pūrṇe śiṣyam abravīt— “ātreya! gatvā rājānaṃ vada— yadi kāryaṃ pūrṇaṃ syāt, tarhi guror ubhau vāmyau aśvau pratidīyatām.” śiṣyo gatvā rājñe tām eva vācam punar uvāca. tato rājā tam uttaraṃ dadau— “eṣā yāna-sampad rājñām arhā; brāhmaṇānāṃ tādṛśa-ratna-dhāraṇe nādhikāraḥ. brāhmaṇaiḥ aśvaiḥ kiṃ kāryam? bhavān idānīṃ sukhaṃ pratigacchatu.”
After pondering in his mind, when a full month had passed, the teacher said to his disciple: “Ātreya, go and tell the king: if the task has been completed, then let my two left-side horses be returned.” The disciple went and repeated the message to the king. The king replied: “Such a mount befits kings. Brahmins have no right to keep jewels of this kind. What use have Brahmins for horses? You may now return safely.” The episode frames a moral tension between rightful ownership and royal arrogance: the king attempts to redefine ‘fitness’ and ‘entitlement’ to justify withholding what is not his, while the brahmin’s request remains restrained and lawful.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power does not create moral entitlement. The king’s claim that ‘such things suit kings’ attempts to replace dharma (rightful return of another’s property) with status-based privilege; the passage critiques that substitution and highlights how injustice can be rationalized through social rhetoric.
After a month of reflection, the teacher instructs his disciple Ātreya to request the return of two horses from a king, assuming the agreed task is finished. The disciple delivers the message, but the king refuses, arguing that such prized mounts are for kings and not for Brahmins, and dismisses the messenger to return safely.