यक्ष्यमाणो ऽश्वमेधेन ज्ञातिद्रोहजिहासया राजा लब्धधनो दध्यौ नान्यत्र करदण्डयोः
yakṣyamāṇo 'śvamedhena jñātidrohajihāsayā rājā labdha-dhano dadhyau nānyatra kara-daṇḍayoḥ
Synonyms
yakṣyamāṇaḥ—desiring to perform; aśvamedhena—by the horse sacrifice ceremony; jñātidroha—fighting with kinsmen; jihāsayā—for getting free; rājā—King Yudhiṣṭhira; labdha-dhanaḥ—for getting some wealth; dadhyau—thought about it; na anyatra—not otherwise; kara-daṇḍayoḥ—taxes and fines..
Translation
Just at this time, King Yudhiṣṭhira was considering performing a horse sacrifice to get freed from sins incurred from fighting with kinsmen. But he became anxious to get some wealth, for there were no surplus funds outside of fines and tax collection.
Purport
As the brāhmaṇas, the vipras had a right to be subsidized by the state, and similarly the state executive head had the right to collect taxes and fines from the citizens. After the Battle of Kurukṣetra the state treasury was exhausted, and therefore there was no surplus fund except the fund from tax collection and fines. Such funds were sufficient only for the state budget, and having no excess fund, the King was anxious to get more wealth in some other way in order to perform the horse sacrifice. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira wanted to perform this sacrifice under the instruction of Bhīṣmadeva.