Shloka 5

कालविभाग-निरूपणं तथा युद्धव्यवस्था

Time-Reckoning and Mobilization Counsel

Devanagari script

अनिवत्ते तु निर्वासे यदि बीभत्सुरागत: । पुनर्द्घादेश वर्षाणि बने वत्स्यन्ति पाण्डवा:

Transliteration

anivṛtte tu nirvāse yadi bībhatsur āgataḥ | punar dvy-ādaśa varṣāṇi vane vatsyanti pāṇḍavāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sagte: „Wenn Bībhatsu (Arjuna) zurückkehrte, ehe die Zeit des Exils ordnungsgemäß vollendet ist, dann wären die Pāṇḍavas gezwungen, abermals zwölf Jahre im Wald zu leben.“

Word by Word

अनिवृत्तेwhen (it is) not returned/when (there is) no return

तुbut, however

निर्वासेin exile/banishment

यदिif

बीभत्सुःBhībhatsu (Arjuna)

रागतःhas come/returned

पुनःagain, further

द्वादशtwelve

वर्षाणिyears

वनेin the forest

वत्स्यन्तिwill dwell/live

पाण्डवाःthe Pāṇḍavas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bībhatsu (Arjuna)

Pāṇḍavas

forest (vana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores dharma as strict fidelity to agreed terms: even an early return that violates the exile’s conditions brings renewed hardship. Ethical life here is framed as accountability—actions have binding consequences, and vows/conditions must be honored precisely.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana states a conditional rule: if Arjuna (Bībhatsu) comes back before the exile period is properly completed, the Pāṇḍavas would have to undergo another full twelve-year forest exile, indicating the seriousness of the exile’s stipulations.