Shloka 2
Virāṭanagara-nivāsa-nirṇaya
Decision to Reside in Virāṭa’s City
जनमेजय उवाच कथं विराटनगरे मम पूर्वपितामहा: । अज्ञातवासमुषिता दुर्योधनभयार्दिता:
janamejaya uvāca kathaṁ virāṭanagare mama pūrvapitāmahāḥ | ajñātavāsam uṣitā duryodhanabhayārditāḥ ||
Janamejaya dit : «Comment mes ancêtres, les Pāṇḍava —accablés par la crainte de Duryodhana— ont-ils passé le temps de leur vie cachée dans la cité de Virāṭa ?»
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a dharmic tension: righteous persons may be compelled to adopt concealment and strategic restraint under unjust threat, yet must preserve integrity and purpose while enduring fear and hardship.
Janamejaya asks the sage to explain how the Pāṇḍavas managed their final year of exile—living unrecognized in Virāṭa’s city—while under the danger of being discovered by Duryodhana.