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: ।।) एतस्य भुजवीर्येण खाण्डवे हव्यवाहन: । मेदसा सर्वभूतानां तृप्तिं यास्यति वै पराम्,“वीर अर्जुन उत्तर दिशामें जाकर वहाँके राजाओंको युद्धमें जीतकर असंख्य धन- रत्नोंकी राशि ले आयेगा। इसके बाहुबलसे खाण्डववनमें अग्निदेव समस्त प्राणियोंके मेदका आस्वादन करके पूर्ण तृप्ति लाभ करेंगे
gatvottaradiśaṃ vīro vijitya yudhi pārthivān | dhana-ratnaugham amitām ānayiṣyati pāṇḍavaḥ || etasya bhuja-vīryeṇa khāṇḍave havyavāhanaḥ | medasā sarva-bhūtānāṃ tṛptiṃ yāsyati vai parām ||
ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า— “วีรบุรุษปาณฑพนั้นจักไปยังทิศเหนือ ครั้นพิชิตกษัตริย์ทั้งหลายในการศึกแล้ว จักนำทรัพย์และรัตนะอันหาประมาณมิได้กลับมา และด้วยกำลังแห่งพาหาของเขา ณ ป่าขาณฑวะ หัวยวาหนะ (เทพอัคนี) จักได้ความอิ่มเอมยิ่ง ด้วยการเสวยไขมันแห่งสรรพสัตว์ทั้งปวง”
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.