Shloka 34
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproof and Vow-Logic: On Dice-Deception, Exile Terms, and the Governance of Anger
Adhyāya 35
अथवानडुहे राजन् साधवे साधुवाहिने | सौहित्यदानादेतस्मादेनस: प्रतिमुच्यते,राजन्! अथवा अच्छी तरह बोझ ढोनेवाले उत्तम बैलको भरपेट भोजन दे देनेपर इस पापसे आपको छुटकारा मिल सकता है
athavā naḍuhe rājan sādhave sādhuvāhine | sauhityadānād etasmād enasaḥ pratimucyate rājan ||
Bhīmasena said: “Or else, O King—by giving a full, satisfying feed to a good ox, one that is gentle and accustomed to bearing loads well—you may be released from this sin. Such an act of kindly nourishment serves as an expiation, O King.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A wrong can be lightened through compassionate, restorative giving: feeding a hardworking, gentle draught-ox to full satiety is presented as a practical act of expiation that counters sin by directly supporting a worthy, burden-bearing creature.
Bhīmasena addresses a king and proposes an alternative means of atonement: instead of other remedies, the king can be freed from the stated offence by offering generous nourishment to a good, load-bearing ox—an ethical gesture emphasizing care for those who serve through labor.