Shloka 4
Droṇācārya’s Assessment of the Pāṇḍavas: Nīti, Kāla, and Intelligence (विराटपर्व, अध्याय २६)
अस्य वर्षस्य शेषं चेद् व्यतीयुरिह पाण्डवा: । निवृत्तसमयास्ते हि सत्यव्रतपरायणा:
asya varṣasya śeṣaṃ ced vyatīyur iha pāṇḍavāḥ | nivṛttasamayās te hi satyavrataparāyaṇāḥ |
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Si los Pāṇḍava lograran pasar aquí el resto de este año del mismo modo, su plazo quedaría cumplido por entero; pues son firmes en votos de verdad. Habiendo así satisfecho su promesa, quedarían libres del peso del juramento y, encendidos en justa ira, sin duda se volverían causa de sufrimiento para los Kaurava».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as fidelity to one’s pledged word: the Pāṇḍavas are portrayed as satyavrata—committed to truth and vow-keeping—so that once the stipulated term is completed, their subsequent action against wrongdoing becomes ethically grounded rather than impulsive.
Vaiśampāyana reflects that if the Pāṇḍavas successfully spend the remaining part of the year in Virāṭa’s realm without violating the conditions of their exile, their term will be fulfilled; freed from the constraint of the vow, they will then be poised to bring severe trouble upon the Kauravas.