Shloka 1
Sāvitrī’s Report and Nārada’s Prognosis (सावित्र्याख्यान—सत्यवान्-गुणवर्णनं तथा अल्पायुषः पूर्वसूचना)
हम आय न () है सप्तसप्तत्याथिकाद्वेशततमो< ध्याय: श्रीरामके राज्याभिषेककी तैयारी
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Uktaṁ bhagavatā janma Rāmādīnāṁ pṛthak pṛthak | Prasthāna-kāraṇaṁ brahman śrotum icchāmi kathyatām ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : « Ô brāhmane, tu as déjà raconté, l’un après l’autre, la naissance de Rāma et de ses frères. À présent, je souhaite entendre la cause de leur départ — dis-la-moi, je t’en prie. Pour quelle raison les vaillants fils de Daśaratha — Śrī Rāma et Lakṣmaṇa — ainsi que l’illustre Sītā, fille du roi de Mithilā, durent-ils gagner la forêt ? »
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: before judging an event like exile, one should seek its true cause from a reliable authority. It also frames exile not as mere misfortune but as a morally significant turning point connected with duty, vows, and the testing of righteousness.
Within the Rāmopākhyāna section of Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira asks the sage-narrator to explain why Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, and Sītā had to leave for the forest, since the births of the brothers have already been narrated.