Shloka 7

Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 1 — The Pandavas’ Exit from Gajasāhvaya and the Citizens’ Lament (जनमेजयप्रश्नः; पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानम्)

Devanagari script

वनवासमदु:खार्हा दारुणं प्रत्यपद्यत | एतदाचदक्ष्व मे सर्व विस्तरेण तपोधन,तपोधन! संसारकी समस्त सुन्दरियोंमें श्रेष्ठ, पतिव्रता एवं सदा सत्य बोलनेवाली वह महाभागा राजकुमारी द्रौपदी, जो दुःख भोगनेके योग्य कदापि नहीं थी, वनवासके भयंकर कष्टको कैसे सह सकी? यह सब मुझे विस्तारपूर्वक बतलाइये

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca: vanavāsam aduḥkhārhā dāruṇaṁ pratyapadyata | etad ācakṣva me sarvaṁ vistareṇa tapodhana tapodhana ||

Translation

Dijo Janamejaya: «¿Cómo llegó Draupadī—tan noble que no era digna de sufrir—a padecer la dura prueba de la vida en el bosque? Oh tesoro de austeridad, cuéntamelo todo por completo y con detalle.»

Word by Word

• {'vanavāsam': 'dwelling in the forest

• exile in the wilderness', 'aduḥkhārhā': 'not deserving of sorrow

• unfit to suffer', 'dāruṇam': 'terrible, harsh, dreadful', 'pratyapadyata': 'she entered upon

• she came to experience', 'etat': 'this (matter)', 'ācakṣva': 'tell, relate, explain (imperative)', 'me': 'to me', 'sarvam': 'all, the whole account', 'vistareṇa': 'in detail, at length', 'tapodhana': 'one whose wealth is austerity

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Draupadī
• forest exile (vanavāsa)
• tapodhana (the ascetic-sage being addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights moral sensitivity to undeserved suffering and the dharmic impulse to seek a truthful, detailed account from a qualified sage. It frames exile not merely as hardship, but as an ethical problem—how the virtuous endure adversity—and invites reflection on resilience and righteousness under trial.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the frame dialogue, King Janamejaya asks the sage (addressed as tapodhana) to explain in detail how Draupadī, portrayed as exceptionally noble and not deserving of grief, managed to undergo the severe hardships of forest exile.