Shloka 20
Adhyāya 3: Indra’s Invitation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Refusal to Abandon the Dog
Svargārohaṇa Test
बेटा! पूर्वकालमें द्वैतववनके भीतर रहते समय भी एक बार मैंने तुम्हारी परीक्षा ली थी; जब कि तुम्हारे सभी भाई पानी लानेके लिये उद्योग करते हुए मारे गये थे ।।
bhīmārjunau parityajya yatra tvaṃ bhrātarāv ubhau | mātroḥ sāmyam abhīpsan vai nakulaṃ jīvam icchasi ||
قالَ دَهرماراجا: «من قبلُ، حينَ كُنّا نقيمُ في غابةِ دْفَيتَفانا، اختبرتُكَ مرّةً—في الوقتِ الذي سقطَ فيه إخوتُكَ جميعاً وهم يسعونَ لجلبِ الماء. هناكَ، وقد تركتَ بهيما وأرجونا جانباً، اخترتَ أن تُبقي نَكولا حيّاً، رغبةً في العدلِ والمساواةِ بين الأُمَّين.»
धर्मरज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as impartial justice: Yudhiṣṭhira praises the choice grounded in fairness to both mothers (Kuntī and Mādrī), showing that ethical decisions should not be driven only by strength, utility, or personal preference, but by equity and duty.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls an earlier forest episode in Dvaitavana when his brothers collapsed while seeking water. In that crisis he tested the moral discernment of his kin; the remembered choice was to save Nakula—despite Bhīma and Arjuna being more powerful—because it preserved balance between the two maternal lines.