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 ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Há centenas de milhares de cabeças de gado—prósperas e de excelente qualidade. Nós também tiraremos proveito disso: dividindo nossa força em dois destacamentos, levaremos essas vacas esplêndidas e de boa raça.”
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.