द्वन्द्वानि संप्रवृत्तानि विषयार्थं महीभुजाम् । दण्ड्यतां संप्रयातानि भूतानि भुवि भूरिशः ॥ १४ ॥
dvandvāni saṁpravṛttāni viṣayārthaṁ mahībhujām | daṇḍyatāṁ saṁprayātāni bhūtāni bhuvi bhūriśaḥ || 14 ||
Translation
Conflicts broke out among the rulers of the earth for the sake of lands and goods, and many beings on earth came to suffer punishment.
Word by word
- dvandvāni
- conflicts
- saṁpravṛttāni
- broke out
- viṣaya
- of lands and goods
- arthaṁ
- for the sake
- mahī
- of the earth
- bhujām
- among the rulers
- daṇḍyatāṁ
- to suffer punishment
- saṁprayātāni
- came
- bhūtāni
- beings
- bhuvi
- on earth
- bhūriśaḥ
- many
Meaning
The next step follows. Those who hold nothing but appetite will fight for what feeds it. The commentary takes viṣaya as land or objects of enjoyment, and adds another way to read the verse: dvandva may also mean the pairs of heat and cold, for whose relief creatures seek goods, and since goods need money, kings tax them. Either way, the suffering spreads downward from those in power to those who are not.