Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एष नो ग्लह एवैको वनवासाय पाण्डवा: । यूयं वयं वा विजिता वसेम वनमाश्रिता:,फिर भी (इन्हें छोड़कर) एकमात्र वनवासका निश्चय ही हमारा दाँव है। पाण्डवो! आपलोग या हम, जो भी हारेंगे, उन्हें वनमें जाकर रहना होगा

Transliteration

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |

eṣa no glaha evaiko vanavāsāya pāṇḍavāḥ |

yūyaṃ vayaṃ vā vijitā vase ma vanam āśritāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “This alone is our stake in the game—exile to the forest, O Pāṇḍavas. Whichever side is defeated, whether you or we, must go and live in the forest, taking refuge there.”

Word by Word

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नः: of us/our
• नः: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Plural

• ग्लहः: stake/wager
• ग्लहः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्लह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• एकः: one/only
• एकः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वनवासाय: for forest-dwelling (exile)
• वनवासाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनवास
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• पाण्डवाः: O Pandavas
• पाण्डवाः: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

• यूयम्: you (pl.)
• यूयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Plural

• वयम्: we
• वयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• विजिताः: defeated
• विजिताः: Karta
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: वि + जि
• Form: क्त, Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वसेम: should dwell
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस्
• Form: Vidhi-linga, Optative, First, Plural, Parasmaipada

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आश्रिताः: having resorted to
• आश्रिताः: Karta
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: आ + श्रि
• Form: क्त, Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

(वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Pāṇḍavas
• vana (forest)
• glaha (wager)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A single unethical decision can be formalized into binding terms that carry severe consequences; the verse highlights how a wager can convert moral failure (gambling) into an enforced social and political outcome (forest exile), testing dharma through acceptance of agreed conditions.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the dice-game setting of the Sabha Parva, the terms of play are being stated: the stake is vanavāsa (living in the forest). Whichever party loses—either the Pāṇḍavas or their opponents—must depart for the forest and reside there.