Shloka 11
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
प्रत्यक्ष हि त्वया दृष्ट ऋषिर्गच्छन् महातपा: । मार्कण्डेयोडप्रमेयात्मा धर्मेण चिरजीविता,तुमने अमेयात्मा महातपस्वी मार्कण्डेयजीको जो अभी यहाँसे गये हैं, प्रत्यक्ष देखा है। उन्हें धर्मपालनसे ही चिरजीविता प्राप्त हुई है
pratyakṣaṃ hi tvayā dṛṣṭa ṛṣir gacchan mahātapāḥ | mārkaṇḍeyo 'prameyātmā dharmeṇa cirajīvitā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Denn du hast mit eigenen Augen den großen Asketen, den Weisen Mārkaṇḍeya, gesehen, als er von hier fortging – dessen inneres Wesen unermesslich ist. Durch standhafte Befolgung des Dharma hat er langes Leben erlangt.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links longevity and spiritual stature to dharma: sustained righteous conduct is presented as the cause of Mārkaṇḍeya’s extraordinary long life and revered status.
Yudhiṣṭhira points out that the listener has personally witnessed the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya departing; he uses this immediate observation to underscore Mārkaṇḍeya’s dharmic life and its fruit—long life.