Shloka 3
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
पज्चालराजं ट्रुपदं गृहीत्वा रणमूर्धनि । पर्यानयत भद्र व: सा स्थात् परमदक्षिणा
Pañcālarājaṃ Drupadaṃ gṛhītvā raṇamūrdhani | paryānayata bhadra vaḥ sā syāt paramadakṣiṇā ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Mga alagad! Dakpin si Drupada, ang hari ng mga Pañcāla, sa gitna mismo ng labanan, at dalhin siya sa akin. Nawa’y mapasa inyo ang kabutihan. Iyan lamang ang magiging pinakamataas na guru-dakṣiṇā para sa akin.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the traditional obligation of dakṣiṇā (a student’s offering to the teacher) and shows how duty can become ethically complex when a guru frames a personal objective as a ‘highest’ fee, binding disciples to act in war for the sake of loyalty.
A teacher instructs his disciples to capture Drupada, king of the Pañcālas, during battle and bring him as the guru’s dakṣiṇā—setting up a conflict where martial success is demanded as repayment for instruction.