Shloka 83
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
न कदाचिद् विकालं हि गतपूर्वो मया55श्रम: । अनागतायां सन्ध्यायां माता मे प्ररुणद्धि माम्
na kadācid vikālaṃ hi gatapūrvo mayāśramaḥ | anāgatāyāṃ sandhyāyāṃ mātā me praruṇaddhi mām ||
Yama said, “Never before have I gone to the hermitage at an improper time. Yet now, before twilight has even arrived, my mother restrains me.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic time-discipline and restraint: one should act at proper times and accept rightful restraint, even when it interrupts one’s usual routine.
Yama remarks that he has never approached the hermitage at an improper time, yet on this occasion—before twilight has arrived—his mother is holding him back, signaling an unusual constraint or a test of conduct.