Shloka 63
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
मां तु निर्जित्य संग्रामे पालयेमां वसुन्धराम् । सूच्यग्रेणापि यद् भूमेरपि भिद्येत भारत
māṃ tu nirjitya saṅgrāme pālayemāṃ vasundharām | sūcyagreṇāpi yad bhūmer api bhidyeta bhārata ||
玉提湿陀罗说道：“先在战场上胜过我，然后再来统治这大地。噢，婆罗多啊，从前你连针尖所能刺穿的那一点土地都不肯给我；而今日，噢，万民之主，你怎会把整个大地都献给我？”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse exposes the ethical inconsistency of political claims: one who earlier denied even the smallest rightful share now speaks grandly of giving everything. Yudhiṣṭhira highlights that true dharma in kingship is measured by fairness and restraint, not by dramatic promises made after violence has already been pursued.
In the Shalya Parva context, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Kuru opponent, recalling the earlier refusal to grant even a needle-tip’s worth of land (a remembered injustice) and questioning the sincerity of a present offer of the whole earth. The line functions as a moral indictment and a reminder of how the war arose from denied rightful settlement.