Shloka 18
Adhyāya 113: Karṇa–Bhīma Śaravarṣa and the Battlefield Aftermath (कर्णभीमशरवर्षः)
एवंगते नरश्रेष्ठे पाण्डवे सत्यवादिनि । अस्माकं गमनं व्यक्त वन॑ प्रति भवेत् पुन:,“यदि सत्यवादी नरश्रेष्ठ पाण्डुकुमार युधिष्ठिर इस प्रकार बंदी बनाये गये तो निश्चय ही हमें पुन: वनमें जाना पड़ेगा
evaṃgate naraśreṣṭhe pāṇḍave satyavādini | asmākaṃ gamanaṃ vyaktaṃ vanaṃ prati bhavet punaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “If matters come to such a pass that the best of men among the Pāṇḍavas—Yudhiṣṭhira, famed for truthfulness—has been taken captive, then it is certain that we shall have to go back again to the forest.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and political weight of Yudhiṣṭhira’s identity as a satyavādin (truth-bound king): if such a figure is reduced to captivity, it signals a collapse of rightful order, bringing consequences like renewed exile and suffering.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, remarks that if the truth-speaking Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) has been captured, then ‘we’ will surely have to return to the forest again—evoking the prospect of another forced withdrawal/exile as a result of the war’s turn.