Shloka 2
रावणोत्पत्तिः—तपसा वरलाभश्च
Rāvaṇa’s Origins and the Acquisition of Boons
वैशम्पायन उवाच ततः शयानं कौन्तेयं रात्रौ द्वैतवने मृगाः । स्वप्नान्ते दर्शयामासुर्बाष्पकण्ठा युधिष्ठिरम्,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--तदनन्तर एक रातमें जब कुन्तीनन्दन युधिष्छिर सो रहे थे, स्वप्नमें द्वैतववनके सिंह-बाघ आदि हिंख्र पशुओंने उन्हें दर्शन दिया। उन सबके कण्ठ आँसुओंसे रुँधे हुए थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tataḥ śayānaṃ kaunteyaṃ rātrau dvaitavane mṛgāḥ | svapnānte darśayāmāsur bāṣpa-kaṇṭhā yudhiṣṭhiram ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then, one night in the Dvaitavana forest, as the son of Kuntī (Yudhiṣṭhira) lay asleep, the wild creatures of the woods appeared to him at the end of a dream. Their throats were choked with tears as they revealed themselves to Yudhiṣṭhira—an ominous, compassionate visitation that frames the forest itself as a moral witness to the Pāṇḍavas’ exile and the suffering it entails.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse suggests that dharma is not only a human concern: the forest and its creatures are portrayed as sensitive witnesses to injustice and suffering. The tear-choked animals imply a moral disturbance in the world-order, preparing the listener for an ethical consequence or warning tied to the Pāṇḍavas’ exile.
While Yudhiṣṭhira sleeps at night in the Dvaitavana forest, wild creatures appear to him in a dream-vision. Their tearful state signals distress and functions as an omen-like visitation, setting up the next development in the episode.