Shloka 12

Devanagari script

आर्डिषेणाश्रमे तेषां वसतां वै महात्मनाम्‌ | अगच्छन्‌ बहवो मासा: पश्यतां महदद्भुतम्‌,आर्टिषेणके आश्रममें रहकर अत्यन्त अद्भुत दृश्योंका अवलोकन करते हुए महामना पाण्डवोंके अनेक मास व्यतीत हो गये

Transliteration

ārḍiṣeṇāśrame teṣāṁ vasatāṁ vai mahātmanām | agacchan bahavo māsāḥ paśyatāṁ mahad-adbhutam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: While those great-souled men—the Pāṇḍavas—dwelt in the hermitage of Ārḍiṣeṇa, many months passed as they beheld wondrous and extraordinary sights.

Word by Word

आर्तिषेणin (the place of) Ārtiṣeṇa

आश्रमेin the hermitage

तेषाम्of them

वसताम्of (those) dwelling

वैindeed

महात्मनाम्of the great-souled ones

अगच्छन्passed/went by

बहवःmany

मासाःmonths

पश्यताम्of (them) seeing/while they watched

महत्great

अद्भुतम्marvellous/wondrous (thing)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍavas

Ārḍiṣeṇa

Ārḍiṣeṇa-āśrama (hermitage)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic endurance: even amid extraordinary experiences, the Pāṇḍavas remain steady in disciplined living, allowing time to pass without being driven by haste or distraction—an ethic of restraint, observation, and perseverance during exile.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that the Pāṇḍavas, residing in Ārḍiṣeṇa’s hermitage, spend many months there, witnessing remarkable and wondrous events—marking a sustained period of their forest sojourn.