Shloka 593
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
धर्मतो याचमानानां प्रशमार्थ कुलस्य न: । अब तो तुम स्वयं ही इस पृथ्वीके स्वामी नहीं रहे; फिर इसका दान कैसे करना चाहते हो? राजन! जब हम लोग कुलमें शान्ति बनाये रखनेके लिये पहले धर्मके अनुसार अपना ही राज्य माँग रहे थे
dharmato yācamānānāṁ praśamārthaṁ kulasya naḥ | adya tvaṁ svayam eva pṛthivyāḥ svāmī na bhavasi; tarhi tasyā dānaṁ kathaṁ kartum icchasi? rājan! yadā vayaṁ kulasya śāntiṁ dhārayituṁ pūrvaṁ dharmataḥ svam eva rājyaṁ yācāmāhe, tadā tvaṁ kuto naitad pṛthivīṁ asmabhyaṁ prāyacchaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Quando pedíamos, de acordo com o dharma, a nossa parte de direito—buscando apenas restaurar a paz em nossa linhagem—por que não nos concedeste esta terra então? Hoje já não és sequer o soberano da terra; como, pois, desejas fazer dela uma ‘doação’? Ó rei, quando primeiro suplicamos pelo nosso próprio reino para preservar a harmonia da família, por que nos negaste a terra naquele momento?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A gift is ethically meaningful only when one has legitimate authority over what is given; dharma demands timely justice and reconciliation. Yudhiṣṭhira highlights that refusing a rightful, peace-seeking request and later offering the same thing without sovereignty is morally incoherent.
In the Shalya Parva context, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a kingly figure and challenges the logic of ‘donating’ the earth after losing true lordship over it, reminding him that earlier the Pāṇḍavas had asked lawfully for their own share to preserve family peace, but were denied.