Shloka 57
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
सुयोधन! यदि तुम इसे देनेमें समर्थ होते तो भी मैं तुम्हारी दी हुई इस पृथ्वीपर शासन करनेकी इच्छा नहीं रखता ।।
Adharmeṇa na gṛhṇīyāṁ tvayā dattāṁ mahīm imām | na hi dharmaḥ smṛto rājan kṣatriyasya pratigrahaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: «Ó Suyodhana, mesmo que fosses capaz de concedê-la, não tenho desejo de governar esta terra como dádiva tua. Não posso aceitar de ti esta terra por meios injustos; pois, ó rei, para um kṣatriya não se tem por dharma receber uma doação.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira asserts that political authority must be obtained through righteous means consistent with kṣatriya-dharma; accepting a kingdom as a ‘gift’ from an adversary—especially under adharma—undermines legitimacy and honor, and ‘pratigraha’ (receiving gifts/alms) is not upheld as the proper dharma for a kṣatriya.
In the Shalya Parva war setting, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Suyodhana (Duryodhana), rejecting the idea of ruling the earth on Duryodhana’s grant. He insists he will not accept the land as a donation and frames this refusal as grounded in traditional dharma for the warrior-ruler class.