Shloka 76
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
पुत्रजन्म परीप्सन् वै पृथिवीमन्वसंचरत् । अहिच्छत्रं च विषयं द्रोणग: समभिपद्यत
putrajanma parīpsan vai pṛthivīm anvasañcarat | ahicchatraṃ ca viṣayaṃ droṇagaḥ samabhipadyata |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。子の誕生を切に願い、ドルパダはそれを得る手立てを求めて地上を遍歴した。その一方で、ドローナの子アシュヴァッターマンは、アヒッチャトラと呼ばれる領土と王国を手中に収めた。この箇所は、自らの力の不足という自覚が、君主を並外れた—ときに倫理的に危うい—追求へと駆り立てる一方、相手方は武力と好機によって政治的支配を固めてゆくことを示している。
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a ruler’s sense of insufficiency in worldly power can lead to intense pursuit of alternative means (such as seeking a powerful heir), while political realities continue to shift through conquest and control. It implicitly raises ethical questions about ambition, insecurity, and the costs of rivalry.
Drupada, unable to overcome Droṇa by conventional martial strength, seeks the birth of a powerful son and roams the world toward that end. At the same time, Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā gains control over the territory known as Ahicchatra.