Seduka and Vṛshadarbha

This short episode is told by the ṛshi Mārkaṇḍeya to Yudhishṭhira in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata. It is about two righteous kings, Seduka and Vṛshadarbha, and about dāna (giving). A brāhmaṇa asks for a thousand horses. One king sends him on, and the other first strikes him and then gives him far more than he asked.

The two kings

Seduka and Vṛshadarbha were both men of sound conduct, trained in the use of weapons. Vṛshadarbha kept a vow (niyama) of his own. From his youth he had given brāhmaṇas only silver or gold and nothing else. This vow was well known in his kingdom, and Seduka knew of it.

The brāhmaṇa’s request

A brāhmaṇa, deeply learned in the Vedas, came to Seduka’s court for help. He said that he needed a thousand horses to pay his guru-dakshiṇā, the fee owed to a teacher when a student finishes his studies. He asked Seduka formally for this gift.

Seduka said no. A thousand horses were more than he could give. But he did not send the brāhmaṇa away without guidance. He said: “Go to Mahārāja Vṛshadarbha. He is a ruler who keeps dharma and will surely fulfil your wish.” The brāhmaṇa took his advice and went to Vṛshadarbha’s court.

The quarrel with Vṛshadarbha

The brāhmaṇa came to Vṛshadarbha’s court and asked for a thousand horses. Vṛshadarbha did not simply refuse. He had the brāhmaṇa struck with a whip (koraḍā). The brāhmaṇa was shocked and hurt. He faced the king and said: “Why are you striking me, O king, for no reason?” He was about to speak a śāpa (a curse).

The threat of a śāpa did not frighten Vṛshadarbha. He challenged the brāhmaṇa directly: “Is it the dharma of a brāhmaṇa to curse those who do not give away their own property?” Vṛshadarbha’s point was that a brāhmaṇa who threatens people for not giving is himself failing in brāhmaṇa dharma.

How it ended

The brāhmaṇa answered that Seduka himself had sent him to Vṛshadarbha. Vṛshadarbha saw that he had struck a brāhmaṇa without good cause and then argued with him, and that he had failed in his dharma. He said to the brāhmaṇa: “The tax revenue I will receive tomorrow by midday, I will give all of it to you.” He kept his word.

The next day Vṛshadarbha gave the brāhmaṇa the whole of one day’s tax revenue of his kingdom. This was far more than the value of the thousand horses the brāhmaṇa had first asked for, and the brāhmaṇa received the gift.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 196 (Mārkaṇḍeya’s account to Yudhishṭhira)