यथागुणबलं चापि त्रिवर्गस्य महाफलम् ॥
दुह्येद् धेनुः कामधुक् च भूमिः सम्यग् अनुष्ठिता ॥
तस्यां गृध्यन्ति राजानः शूरा धर्मार्थकोविदाः ॥
ते त्यजन्त्य् आहवे प्राणान् रसागृद्धास् तरस्विनः ॥
देवमानुषकायानां कामं भूमिः परायणम् ॥
अन्योन्यस्यावलुम्पन्ति सारमेया इवामिषम् ॥
राजानो भरतश्रेष्ठ भोक्तुकामा वसुंधराम् ॥
न चापि तृप्तिः कामानां विद्यते चेह कस्य चित् ॥
तस्मात् परिग्रहे भूमेर् यतन्ते कुरुपाण्डवाः ॥
साम्ना दानेन भेदेन दण्डेनैव च पार्थिव ॥
पिता माता च पुत्रश् च खं द्यौश् च नरपुंगव ॥
भूमिर् भवति भूतानां सम्यग् अच्छिद्रदर्शिनी ॥
yathāguṇabalaṃ cāpi trivargasya mahāphalam ||
duhyed dhenuḥ kāmadhuk ca bhūmiḥ samyag anuṣṭhitā ||
tasyāṃ gṛdhyanti rājānaḥ śūrā dharmārthakovidāḥ ||
te tyajanty āhave prāṇān rasāgṛddhās tarasvinaḥ ||
devamānuṣakāyānāṃ kāmaṃ bhūmiḥ parāyaṇam ||
anyonyasyāvalumpanti sārameyā ivāmiṣam ||
rājāno bharataśreṣṭha bhoktukāmā vasuṃdharām ||
na cāpi tṛptiḥ kāmānāṃ vidyate ceha kasya cit ||
tasmāt parigrahe bhūmer yatante kurupāṇḍavāḥ ||
sāmnā dānena bhedena daṇḍenaiva ca pārthiva ||
pitā mātā ca putraś ca khaṃ dyauś ca narapuṃgava ||
bhūmir bhavati bhūtānāṃ samyag acchidradarśinī ||
If the earth is rightly tended, she, like a dhenu that grants every wish, yields the great fruit of the three aims of life — dharma, artha, and kama — in proportion to one's qualities and strength. Therefore kings eagerly desire her: heroes skilled in dharma and profit, mighty and coveting her riches, give up their lives in battle. For the bodies of gods and men the earth is their most desired refuge; and desiring to enjoy Vasundhara, kings, O best of the Bharatas, plunder her from one another as dogs snatch meat. In this world, no one's desires are ever satisfied. Therefore the Kurus and Pandavas, O king, strive to seize the earth by conciliation, by gift, by division, and finally by the force of punishment. O best of men, the earth becomes father, mother, son, space, and sky to all beings; she truly sees everything without a gap.
c87853688021 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:37:17 PM UTC
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The chapter's close lays bare the tragedy of royal politics: the earth is nurse and support of all living beings, yet the desire to possess her fruits turns rulers into rivals ready to snatch prey from one another. The right relation to the earth is service and protection; the wrong one is seizure, and from seizure war is born.