Shloka 1
Sāvitrī’s Report and Nārada’s Prognosis (सावित्र्याख्यान—सत्यवान्-गुणवर्णनं तथा अल्पायुषः पूर्वसूचना)
हम आय न () है सप्तसप्तत्याथिकाद्वेशततमो< ध्याय: श्रीरामके राज्याभिषेककी तैयारी
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Uktaṁ bhagavatā janma Rāmādīnāṁ pṛthak pṛthak | Prasthāna-kāraṇaṁ brahman śrotum icchāmi kathyatām ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Brāhmaṇa, you have already recounted, one by one, the births of Rāma and his brothers. Now I wish to hear the reason for their departure—pray tell me. For what cause did the valiant sons of Daśaratha—Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa—together with the illustrious Sītā, daughter of the king of Mithilā, have to go to the forest?”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: before judging an event like exile, one should seek its true cause from a reliable authority. It also frames exile not as mere misfortune but as a morally significant turning point connected with duty, vows, and the testing of righteousness.
Within the Rāmopākhyāna section of Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira asks the sage-narrator to explain why Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, and Sītā had to leave for the forest, since the births of the brothers have already been narrated.