Shloka 4
अरण्यवृत्ति-वैराग्योपदेशः | Forest Discipline and the Program of Non-Attachment
हित्वा ग्राम्यसुखाचारं तप्यमानो महत् तप: । अरण्ये फलमूलाशी चरिष्यामि मृगै: सह,मैं गँवारोंक सुख और आचारपर लात मारकर वनमें रहकर अत्यन्त कठोर तपस्या करूँगा, फल-मूल खाकर मृगोंके साथ विचरूँगा
hitvā grāmyasukhācāraṃ tapyamāno mahat tapaḥ | araṇye phalamūlāśī cariṣyāmi mṛgaiḥ saha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Indem ich die Annehmlichkeiten und Gepflogenheiten des gewöhnlichen Dorflebens hinter mir lasse, werde ich strenge Askese üben. Im Wald lebend, von Früchten und Wurzeln zehrend, werde ich mit den Hirschen umherstreifen.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic impulse toward renunciation: when overwhelmed by moral burden and sorrow, one may seek purification through tapas—discipline, simplicity, and withdrawal from worldly comforts—aiming at inner restraint rather than external power.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, distressed after the war and disillusioned with worldly life, declares his intention to abandon royal and social comforts and live as an ascetic in the forest, sustaining himself on fruits and roots and roaming among wild animals.