Shloka 1
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ४५३६ “लोक हैं।) हू... “+(>9) #:६.# #25-१ त्रयोदशाधिकत्रिशततमो< ध्याय: यक्ष और युधिष्ठिरका प्रश्नोत्तर तथा युधिष्ठिरके उत्तरसे संतुष्ट हुए यक्षका चारों हल जीवित होनेका वरदान ना वैशग्पायन उवाच स ददर्श हतान् भ्रातूँललोकपालानिव च्युतान् | चुगान्ते समनुप्राप्ते शक्रप्रतिमगौरवान्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! युधिष्छिरने इन्द्रके समान गौरवशाली अपने भाइयोंको सरोवरके तटपर निर्जीवकी भाँति पड़े हुए देखा; मानो प्रलय-कालमें सम्पूर्ण लोकपाल अपने लोकोससे भ्रष्ट होकर गिर गये हों
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | sa dadarśa hatān bhrātṝl lokapālān iva cyutān | yugānte samanuprāpte śakra-pratima-gauravān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Yudhiṣṭhira saw his brothers lying slain at the edge of the lake, as though the guardians of the worlds themselves had fallen from their stations at the end of an age. They were men of splendor and dignity like Indra, now cast down and motionless—an image that frames the coming dialogue on restraint, truthfulness, and dharma in the face of grief.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets the moral stage for the Yakṣa–Yudhiṣṭhira exchange: even when overwhelmed by loss, one must respond through dharma—discernment, truth, and restraint—rather than impulsive action.
Yudhiṣṭhira reaches the lakeside and sees his brothers lying lifeless. The scene is described with cosmic-scale imagery (like fallen Lokapālas at yugānta), introducing the gravity of the test that will follow.