Shloka 120
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
सुन्दोपसुन्दयोस्तद्वदाख्यानं परिकीर्तितम् । अनन्तरं च द्रौपद्या सहासीनं युधिछ्िरम्,इसी प्रसंगमें सुन्दर और उपसुन्दके उपाख्यानका भी वर्णन है। तदनन्तर एक दिन धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर द्रौपदीके साथ बैठे हुए थे। अर्जुनने ब्राह्मणके लिये नियम तोड़कर वहाँ प्रवेश किया और अपने आयुध लेकर ब्राह्मणकी वस्तु उसे प्राप्त करा दी और दृढ़ निश्चय करके वीरताके साथ मर्यादापालनके लिये वनमें चले गये। इसी प्रसंगमें यह कथा भी कही गयी है कि वनवासके अवसरपर मार्गमें ही अर्जुन और उलूपीका मेल-मिलाप हो गया
sundopasundayos tadvad ākhyānaṃ parikīrtitam | anantaraṃ ca draupadyā sahāsīnaṃ yudhiṣṭhiram |
The tale of Sunda and Upasunda is also recounted here. Thereafter, King Yudhiṣṭhira—the Dharmarāja—sat together with Draupadī, setting the scene for the episode to follow, where questions of propriety, restraint, and the safeguarding of dharma come to the fore.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a narrative hinge: it signals that prior exempla (like the tale of Sunda and Upasunda) are invoked to frame later conduct. The ethical emphasis is on how stories are used to illuminate dharma—especially restraint, propriety, and the consequences of transgressing boundaries.
The text notes that the episode of Sunda and Upasunda has been told, and then shifts to a new scene: Yudhiṣṭhira is seated with Draupadī. This sets up the next incident in the surrounding narrative sequence.