Shloka 5
Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 1 — The Pandavas’ Exit from Gajasāhvaya and the Citizens’ Lament (जनमेजयप्रश्नः; पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानम्)
कथं च द्वादश समा बने तेषां महामुने | व्यतीयुत्रल्वमिणश्रेष्ठ शूराणामरिघातिनाम्,महामुने! ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठ! शत्रुओंका संहार करनेवाले उन शूरवीर महारथियोंके बारह वर्ष वनमें किस प्रकार बीते?
kathaṁ ca dvādaśa samā vane teṣāṁ mahāmune | vyatīyuḥ valmīki-śreṣṭha śūrāṇām ari-ghātinām ||
قال جنميجيا: «أيها الحكيم العظيم—يا أسبق الشعراء—كيف قضى أولئك الأبطال، قاهرو الأعداء، اثنتي عشرة سنة في الغابة؟ وبأيّ صورةٍ انطوى عليهم ذلك المنفى الطويل؟»
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic endurance: even mighty, enemy-smiting heroes must learn to live within restraint and hardship during exile, and the listener is invited to reflect on how character and righteousness are tested over time.
In the frame dialogue, King Janamejaya asks the sage (addressed as Vālmīki-śreṣṭha) to describe how the heroes spent the twelve-year forest exile—setting up the account of their life, trials, and conduct in the wilderness.