Shloka 41
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
(गत्वोत्तरदिशं वीरो विजित्य युधि पार्थिवान् । धनरत्नौघधममितमानयिष्यति पाण्डव: ।।
gatvottaradiśaṃ vīro vijitya yudhi pārthivān | dhana-ratnaugham amitām ānayiṣyati pāṇḍavaḥ || etasya bhuja-vīryeṇa khāṇḍave havyavāhanaḥ | medasā sarva-bhūtānāṃ tṛptiṃ yāsyati vai parām ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wira itu, sang Pāṇḍava, akan pergi ke arah utara dan, setelah menewaskan para raja dalam peperangan, akan membawa pulang limpahan harta dan permata yang tiada terukur. Dan dengan kekuatan lengannya, di rimba Khāṇḍava, Dewa Api (Agni) benar-benar akan mencapai kepuasan tertinggi dengan memakan lemak segala makhluk hidup.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how human prowess and royal conquest can become instruments for larger, even unsettling, cosmic purposes: Arjuna’s victories yield wealth, while the same strength enables Agni’s grim ‘satiation’ in Khāṇḍava—inviting reflection on the ethical ambiguity of power and the far-reaching consequences of martial success.
Vaiśampāyana foretells that the Pāṇḍava hero (implicitly Arjuna) will travel north, defeat regional kings, and return with vast riches; additionally, his might will facilitate Agni’s fulfillment in the Khāṇḍava forest, foreshadowing the Khāṇḍava episode where Fire seeks satisfaction through burning and consuming living beings.