Shloka 17
Droṇācārya’s Assessment of the Pāṇḍavas: Nīti, Kāla, and Intelligence (विराटपर्व, अध्याय २६)
अत्यन्तं वा निगूढास्ते पारं चोर्मिमतो गता: । व्यालैश्वापि महारण्ये भक्षिता: शूरमानिन:,'या तो वे अधिक गुप्त स्थानमें छिपे हैं या समुद्रके उस पार चले गये हैं। यह भी सम्भव है कि अपनेको शूरवीर माननेवाले इन पाण्डवोंको उस महान् वनमें अजगर निगल गये हों
atyantaṃ vā nigūḍhās te pāraṃ cormimato gatāḥ | vyālaiś cāpi mahāraṇye bhakṣitāḥ śūramāninaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Either they are hidden away in some extremely secret place, or they have crossed beyond the far shore of the wave-tossed sea. It is also possible that, thinking themselves mighty heroes, those Pāṇḍavas have been devoured by great serpents in that vast forest.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how ignorance breeds conjecture and how pride in one’s own heroism (śūramāna) does not protect one from real dangers; ethical discernment requires restraint in assumptions and humility before uncertainty.
The speaker reports circulating possibilities about the Pāṇḍavas’ whereabouts: they may be deeply concealed, may have gone beyond the sea, or may have perished in the great forest—underscoring that their location and fate are unknown to others at this point.