Shloka 9
यत् तद् द्वादश वर्षाणि वनेषु हुषिता वयम् । छटद्माना शरदं चैकां धृतराष्ट्रस्य शासनात्,प्रभो! हम तो यही समझकर कि धुृतराष्ट्र अपनी प्रतिज्ञापर स्थिर रहेंगे, उन्हींकी आज्ञासे बारह वर्ष वनमें रहे और एक वर्ष अज्ञातवास किया। श्रीकृष्ण! हमने अपनी प्रतिज्ञा भंग नहीं की है; इस बातको हमारे साथ रहनेवाले सभी ब्राह्मण जानते हैं
yad tad dvādaśa varṣāṇi vaneṣu uṣitā vayam | chadmanā śaradaṃ caikāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya śāsanāt, prabho |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Those twelve years that we lived in the forests, and that single year we spent in concealment—these we endured under Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s command, O Lord. Trusting that Dhṛtarāṣṭra would stand firm by his pledged word, we obeyed his order. We have not violated our vow; all the Brahmins who lived with us know this to be true.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as fidelity to one’s pledged word: Yudhiṣṭhira grounds moral and political legitimacy in strict observance of the agreed exile and incognito terms, supported by credible witnesses (the Brahmins).
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Yudhiṣṭhira asserts that the Pāṇḍavas completed the required twelve-year forest exile and one-year concealed stay under Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s order, and that they did not break their vow—thereby strengthening their rightful claim and moral standing.