Mahabharata 9.31.666 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 31, Shloka 666

गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel

Devanagari script

पृथिवीं दातुकामो5पि जीवितेन विमोक्ष्यसे । तुम तो केवल मूर्खतावश विवेक खो बैठे हो; इसीलिये यह नहीं समझते कि आज भूमि देनेकी इच्छा करनेपर भी तुम्हें अपने जीवनसे हाथ धोना पड़ेगा

Transliteration

pṛthivīṃ dātukāmo 'pi jīvitena vimokṣyase |

Translation

पृथिवीं दातुकामोऽपि जीवितेन विमोक्ष्यसे। मूढत्वाद् विवेकं नष्टवानसि; तस्माद् न बुध्यसे— अद्य भूमिं दातुमिच्छन्नपि जीवितत्यागं नातिवर्तिष्यसि॥

Word by Word

• पृथिवीम्: the earth/land
• पृथिवीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• दातुकामः: desirous of giving
• दातुकामः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दातुकाम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even/though
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• जीवितेन: with (your) life; by (your) life
• जीवितेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• विमोक्ष्यसे: you will be freed/released (i.e., you will part) from
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच्
• Form: Future, Second, Singular, Atmanepada, Active (Atmanepada usage)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• pṛthivī (the earth/kingdom)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Good intentions expressed too late do not cancel the moral and practical consequences of prior wrongdoing. In a dharmic frame, responsibility is not avoided by last-minute concessions; discernment (viveka) is required to see that certain actions inevitably demand a costly reckoning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira rebukes an opponent (or interlocutor) who proposes giving land as a settlement. He warns that the offer comes after the situation has crossed a point of no return: even if land is offered now, the speaker will not be spared and will have to lose his life.