Shloka 23
धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति व्यवहार-रक्षा-नियमनोपदेशः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Instruction on Administration, Punishment, and Daily Governance
Devanagari script
यत्र त्रयोदशसमा वने वन्येन जीवथ
Transliteration
yatra trayodaśasamā vane vanyena jīvatha
Translation
Di sana, di rimba, selama tiga belas tahun kalian hidup dari apa yang disediakan belantara.
Word by Word
यत्रwhere
यत्र:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयत्र
Formindeclinable (locative adverb)
त्रयोदशसमाthirteen years (in duration)
त्रयोदशसमा:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootत्रयोदश + सम
Formfeminine, nominative singular
वनेin the forest
वने:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootवन
Formneuter, locative singular
वन्येनby/with forest-produce (wild food)
वन्येन:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootवन्य
Formneuter, instrumental singular
जीवथyou live / you subsist
जीवथ:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootजीव्
Formpresent (lat), 2nd person plural, parasmaipada
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined endurance: living simply on forest resources for a long period exemplifies restraint, adaptability, and steadfastness in hardship—values aligned with dharma and self-control.
Vaiśampāyana recalls a period of prolonged forest-dwelling—thirteen years—emphasizing that the addressed group survived by subsisting on what the forest naturally supplied, evoking their earlier exile and austerity.