Shloka 5
सिकता वपन् सव्यसाची राजानमनुगच्छति । माद्रीपुत्र: सहदेवो मुखमालिप्य गच्छति,सव्यसाची अर्जुन बालू बिखेरते हुए राजा युधिष्ठिरके पीछे-पीछे जा रहे हैं। माद्रीकुमार सहदेव अपने मुँहपर मिट्टी पोतकर जाते हैं
sikatā vapan savyasācī rājānam anugacchati | mādrīputraḥ sahadevo mukham ālipya gacchati ||
Vidura said: “Arjuna, the ambidextrous archer, follows King Yudhiṣṭhira while scattering sand. Sahadeva, the son of Mādrī, goes along with his face smeared with dust.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unrighteous public actions (especially in a royal court) bring visible dishonor and ominous signs even upon the virtuous; it frames humiliation as a moral consequence and a warning about the collapse of dharma in governance.
As Yudhiṣṭhira is led along in the aftermath of the dice-hall catastrophe, Arjuna follows scattering sand, and Sahadeva follows with his face smeared with dust—symbolic gestures of abasement and foreboding described by Vidura.