Shloka 24
Virāṭa’s Mobilization to Recover the Cattle (गोधनरक्षणार्थ विराटस्य सैन्यसमायोजनम्)
गवां शतसहस्राणि श्रीमन्ति गुणवन्ति च । वयमप्यनुगृह्नीमो द्विधा कृत्वा वरूथिनीम्,“फिर हमलोग अपनी सेनाको दो टुकड़ोंमें बॉँटकर उनकी लाखों सुन्दर तथा गुणवती गौओंका अपहरण करेंगे”
gavāṁ śata-sahasrāṇi śrīmantī guṇavantī ca | vayam apy anugṛhnīmo dvidhā kṛtvā varūthinīm ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「牛は幾十万といる。肥え栄え、血統も優れている。我らもこの機を逃さぬ。軍を二隊に分け、あの見事で良種の牝牛を奪い去るのだ。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how desire for wealth can drive organized wrongdoing: the plan to split the army and seize cattle shows calculated aggression, implicitly contrasting opportunistic gain with dharmic restraint.
In Virāṭa Parva, a force is being urged to exploit the presence of vast, valuable cattle by dividing the army into two units and carrying the herd away—setting up the ensuing confrontation around the cattle of King Virāṭa.