Shloka 2
Virāṭanagara-nivāsa-nirṇaya
Decision to Reside in Virāṭa’s City
जनमेजय उवाच कथं विराटनगरे मम पूर्वपितामहा: । अज्ञातवासमुषिता दुर्योधनभयार्दिता:
janamejaya uvāca kathaṁ virāṭanagare mama pūrvapitāmahāḥ | ajñātavāsam uṣitā duryodhanabhayārditāḥ ||
Janamejaya said: “How did my forefathers, the Pāṇḍavas—distressed by fear of Duryodhana—spend the period of living incognito in the city of Virāṭa?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a dharmic tension: righteous persons may be compelled to adopt concealment and strategic restraint under unjust threat, yet must preserve integrity and purpose while enduring fear and hardship.
Janamejaya asks the sage to explain how the Pāṇḍavas managed their final year of exile—living unrecognized in Virāṭa’s city—while under the danger of being discovered by Duryodhana.