उपस्थितानां रत्नानां श्रेष्ठानाम् अर्घहारिणाम् ॥
नादृश्यत परः प्रान्तो नापरस् तत्र भारत ॥
न मे हस्तः समभवद् वसु तत् प्रतिगृह्णतः ॥
प्रातिष्ठन्त मयि श्रान्ते गृह्य दूराहृतं वसु ॥
कृतां बिन्दुसरोरत्नैर् मयेन स्फाटिकच्छदाम् ॥
अपश्यं नलिनीं पूर्णाम् उदकस्येव भारत ॥
upasthitānāṃ ratnānāṃ śreṣṭhānām arghahāriṇām ||
nādṛśyata paraḥ prānto nāparas tatra bhārata ||
na me hastaḥ samabhavad vasu tat pratigṛhṇataḥ ||
prātiṣṭhanta mayi śrānte gṛhya dūrāhṛtaṃ vasu ||
kṛtāṃ bindusaroratnair mayena sphāṭikacchadām ||
apaśyaṃ nalinīṃ pūrṇām udakasyeva bhārata ||
"Of the jewels presented, the finest and priceless, no far edge nor near one was to be seen there, O Bharata. My hands were not sufficient to receive that wealth; people stood while I grew weary, holding wealth brought from afar. And I saw a lotus-pond made by Maya of the gems of Bindusaras, with a crystal covering, full as if of water, O Bharata."
d78407af3ceb · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:49:22 PM UTC
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There is so much wealth that 'his hands were not sufficient to receive it': an abundance that would console a grateful heart is, for the envious man, only weariness and reproach. It is significant that Duryodhana, handling priceless gifts, felt no joy even in possessing a part of them — what occupied him was not what was in his hands, but the fact that none of it was his. The verse teaches that envy poisons the very touch of a blessing: neither the measure nor the nearness of wealth satisfies one who measures himself against another. And hands wearied by another's treasures are an image of a soul exhausted not by labor but by envy; whoever serves another's greatness with envy in his heart bears a double burden — of the load, and of the malice.