Shloka 1
अगस्त्य-वातापि-उपाख्यानम्
Agastya and Vātāpi: Ilvala’s stratagem; Lopāmudrā’s emergence
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाा भारत वनप्वके अन्तर्गत तीर्थयात्रापर्वमें लोमशतीर्थयात्राविषयक तिरानबेवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ ९३ ॥। #::3:.8 #::3:..7 (0) हि २ 7 चतुर्नवतितमो< ध्याय: देवताओं और धर्मात्मा राजाओंका उदाहरण देकर महर्षि लोमशका युधिष्ठिरको अधर्मसे हानि बताना और तीर्थयात्राजनित पुण्यकी महिमाका वर्णन करते हुए आश्वासन देना युधिछिर उवाच न वै निर्गुणमात्मानं मन्ये देवर्षिसत्तम । तथास्मि दुःखसंतप्तो यथा नान्यो महीपति:,युधिष्ठिर बोले--देवर्षिप्रवर लोमश! मेरी समझसे मैं अपनेको सात्त्विक गुणोंसे हीन नहीं मानता तो भी दु:ःखोंसे इतना संतप्त होता रहता हूँ जितना दूसरा कोई राजा नहीं हुआ होगा
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: na vai nirguṇam ātmānaṃ manye devarṣi-sattama | tathāsmi duḥkha-santapto yathā nānyo mahīpatiḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of divine seers, I do not consider myself devoid of virtue; and yet I am scorched by sorrow in a way that no other king seems to have been.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a moral paradox central to the epic: personal commitment to virtue does not automatically prevent suffering. The verse frames a dharmic inquiry—why the righteous may still endure intense pain—inviting reflection on karma, fate, and the complex burdens of kingship.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ forest period and within the pilgrimage-discourse setting, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the sage Lomaśa. He confesses that despite not seeing himself as lacking virtue, he feels uniquely overwhelmed by sorrow, setting up Lomaśa’s ensuing counsel on adharma’s harms and the purifying, reassuring value of tīrthayātrā.