Shloka 62
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
न त्वमद्य महीं दातुमीश: कौरवनन्दन । आच्छेत्तुं वा बलादू राजन् स कथं दातुमिच्छसि
na tvam adya mahīṁ dātum īśaḥ kauravanandana | ācchattuṁ vā balād rājann sa kathaṁ dātum icchasi | yo śatrubhir ākrāntaḥ sa ko rājā kasyacid bhūmiṁ dātum icchet | kauravanandana nareśa adya na tvaṁ kasyacid pṛthivīṁ dātuṁ śaknoṣi na ca balena hartuṁ śaknoṣi | evaṁ sthite kathaṁ te bhūmidāne icchā jāyate ||
玉提湿陀罗说道：“噢，俱卢一脉之子，今日你既无力赐地，也无力以武力夺地。一个自身正遭敌军攻伐的君王——在那般境况下，哪位统治者还会想到把领土给别人？噢，考罗婆王子，既然你既不能赐予大地，也不能夺取它，如今这‘赠地’之欲又从何而起？”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s promises and gifts must be grounded in actual sovereignty and responsibility. When a king is under enemy pressure and lacks control over territory, offering land becomes ethically and practically hollow; true royal duty requires realism, accountability, and protection of the realm before making grants.
Yudhiṣṭhira challenges a Kaurava prince’s stated intention to give land. He argues that, in the present wartime crisis—when the speaker is beset by enemies and lacks the power either to grant territory or to seize it—such an offer is incoherent, and he questions the sudden emergence of this desire.