Shloka 4
Sātyaki’s Call for Intervention and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Vow-Bound Restraint (सात्यकिवाक्यं—धर्मराजस्य धैर्यनिश्चयः)
कस्मादिमौ रामजनार्दनौ च प्रद्युम्नसाम्बी च मया समेतौ । वसन्त्यरण्ये सहसोदरीयै- स्त्रैलोक्पनाथानभिगम्य पार्था:,आप दोनों भाई बलराम और श्रीकृष्ण, मेरेसहित ये प्रद्युम्म और साम्ब सब-के-सब मौजूद हैं। इन त्रिभुवनपतियोंसे मिलकर भी ये कुन्तीके पुत्र अभीतक अपने भाइयोंके साथ वनमें क्यों निवास करते हैं?
kasmād imau rāmajanārdanau ca pradyumnasāmbī ca mayā sametau | vasanty araṇye sahasodarīyais trailokyanāthān abhigamya pārthāḥ ||
Balarāma berkata: “Mengapa Rāma (Balarāma) dan Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa), juga Pradyumna dan Sāmba, semuanya berada di sini bersamaku; namun para Pārtha, putra-putra Kuntī, meski telah mendatangi para penguasa tiga dunia, tetap tinggal di hutan bersama saudara-saudara mereka?”
बलदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between power and dharma: even with access to mighty protectors, the Pāṇḍavas remain in exile, implying restraint, fidelity to vows/conditions, and the ethical complexity of responding to injustice.
Baladeva questions why the Pāṇḍavas still live in the forest with their brothers despite having approached (or being able to approach) the supreme leaders—Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, and their Yādava allies—who could potentially alter their situation.