Shloka 14
अध्याय २७०: प्रहस्त-वधः, धूम्राक्ष-हननं, कुम्भकर्ण-प्रबोधनम्
Chapter 270: Slaying of Prahasta; Defeat of Dhūmrākṣa; Awakening of Kumbhakarṇa
न बुध्यते नाथवतीमिहाद्य बहिश्नरं हृदयं पाण्डवानाम्
na budhyate nāthavatīm ihādya bahiṣṇaraṃ hṛdayaṃ pāṇḍavānām
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Aun hoy, el corazón de los Pāṇḍavas no despierta a la verdad de que aquí no están sin protector; su resolución interior se vuelve hacia afuera y no reconoce el amparo que está a su lado.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological point: in crisis, one may overlook existing support and guidance. Ethical steadiness (dharma) requires clear discernment—recognizing protectors, allies, and rightful counsel rather than letting the heart run outward into anxiety and confusion.
In the Vana Parva context of the Pāṇḍavas’ hardship, the narrator remarks that their inner understanding has not yet settled: they fail to perceive themselves as ‘protected’ and remain mentally scattered, oriented to external distress rather than to the sustaining support available to them.