कृपवाक्यं तथा नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel and a Discourse on Statecraft
निवासं धर्मराजस्य वर्षेडस्मिन् वै त्रयोदशे । “अतः इस तेरहवें वर्षमें धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरके निवासके सम्बन्धमें दूसरे लोग जैसी धारणा रखते हैं, वैसा मैं नहीं मानता
nivāsaṃ dharmarājasya varṣe 'smin vai trayodaśe |
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Was den Aufenthaltsort und das Verborgensein des Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira in diesem dreizehnten Jahr betrifft, so teile ich die Annahme nicht, die andere gemeinhin hegen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights discernment in judging dharmic conduct: popular assumptions about a righteous person’s actions (here, Yudhiṣṭhira’s thirteenth-year stay) may be mistaken, and a careful, principled account should replace hearsay.
The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana introduces or clarifies the account of Yudhiṣṭhira’s residence during the Pandavas’ thirteenth year of concealment, signaling that he will correct a prevailing view and present what he considers the accurate understanding.