Shloka 1
Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके २३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ५५ श्लोक हैं) है ० बक। ] अतिफऑशाड< चतुर्विशर्त्याधकशततमो< ध्याय: राजा पाण्डुकी मृत्यु और माद्रीका उनके साथ चितारोहण वैशम्पायन उवाच दर्शनीयांस्तत: पुत्रान् पाण्डु: पज्च महावने । तान् पश्यन् पर्वते रम्ये स्वबाहुबलमाश्रित:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | darśanīyāṁs tataḥ putrān pāṇḍuḥ pañca mahāvane | tān paśyan parvate ramye svabāhubalam āśritaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thereafter, in that great forest, Pāṇḍu beheld his five handsome sons. Gazing upon them on a lovely mountain height, he lived there content, sustained by the strength of his own arms—an image of a king in exile who still upholds dignity and responsibility through self-reliance rather than royal power.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when deprived of royal comforts, a ruler’s steadiness is shown through self-control and self-reliance. Pāṇḍu’s contented dwelling in the forest, supported by his own strength, frames ethical kingship as grounded in personal discipline rather than external power.
Vaiśampāyana describes Pāṇḍu living in a great forest on a beautiful mountain, looking upon his five sons. The verse sets the scene of the family’s forest life shortly before the events that lead toward Pāṇḍu’s death and the ensuing turning point for the Pāṇḍavas.