Shloka 9

अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship

Book 14, Chapter 89

Devanagari script

वसुधा भवतत्त्वेषा संन्यस्ता राजसत्तम

Transliteration

vasudhā bhavatattveṣā saṃnyastā rājasattama

Translation

毗舍波耶那说道：“诸王之最啊，这大地——依其真实本性——已托付于你掌管。”

Word by Word

• वसुधा: the earth
• वसुधा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भवतत्त्वा: having your essence/nature (i.e., of your very being)
• भवतत्त्वा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भवतत्त्व
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• एषा: this
• एषा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• संन्यस्ता: entrusted/handed over; deposited
• संन्यस्ता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-नि-√अस् (न्यास)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• राजसत्तम: O best of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Earth (Vasudhā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames sovereignty as stewardship: the earth/realm is not merely possessed but entrusted, implying a king’s dharma to protect, sustain, and govern in harmony with the land’s inherent order (tattva).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses a king and states that the earth has been ‘placed in his care,’ signaling a transfer or affirmation of responsibility and authority, with an ethical emphasis on rightful governance.