Shloka 31
अज्ञातवासं घोरं च वसता दुष्करं कृतम् । दुःखमेव कुत:ः सौख्य॑ भ्रष्टराज्यस्य भारत,“भारत! भयंकर अज्ञातवास करके तो तुमलोगोंने और भी दुष्कर कार्य सम्पन्न किया है। जो अपने राज्यसे वंचित हो गया हो, उसे तो कष्ट ही उठाना पड़ता है, सुख कहाँसे मिल सकता है?
ajñātavāsaṃ ghoraṃ ca vasatā duṣkaraṃ kṛtam | duḥkham eva kutaḥ saukhyaṃ bhraṣṭarājyasya bhārata ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Living in fearful concealment (the period of incognito exile) has been accomplished by you as a most difficult undertaking. For one who has been deprived of his kingdom, there is only suffering—how could happiness arise, O Bhārata?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Loss of rightful sovereignty brings unavoidable hardship; when one is dispossessed, comfort is not easily possible. The verse underscores endurance and the ethical weight of unjust deprivation of a kingdom.
The speaker reflects on the Pāṇḍavas’ completion of the perilous incognito year (ajñātavāsa) and remarks that, being deprived of their kingdom, their condition naturally yields suffering rather than happiness.