Shloka 18
Dhanañjaya-viraha-śoka and the Resolve to Enter Gandhamādana (धनंजय-विरह-शोकः गन्धमादन-प्रवेश-संकल्पश्च)
यस्य बाहुबलाद वीर सभा चासीत् पुरा मम | सर्वरत्नमयी ख्याता त्रिषु लोकेषु पाण्डव,वीर भीमसेन! जिसके बाहुबलसे पहले मेरे अधिकारमें सम्पूर्ण रत्नोंकी बनी हुई त्रिभुवनविख्यात सभा थी
yasyā bāhubalād vīra sabhā cāsīt purā mama | sarvaratnamayī khyātā triṣu lokeṣu pāṇḍava || vīra bhīmasena |
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «¡Oh héroe, oh Pāṇḍava Bhīmasena! ¿Por la fuerza de los brazos de quién, en tiempos pasados, estuvo bajo mi autoridad aquel célebre salón de asamblea—como si estuviera hecho de toda clase de joyas—renombrado en los tres mundos?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly splendor and political authority—symbolized by the jewel-like sabhā—rest on human strength and circumstance, and can be lost; the verse invites reflection on impermanence and the need to anchor kingship and self-worth in dharma rather than mere power or possessions.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīma, recalling the earlier glory of their rule: a magnificent, world-renowned assembly hall that once stood under his authority, achieved and protected through heroic strength—implicitly contrasting that past prosperity with their present hardship in the forest.