Shloka 23
युधिष्ठिरकृष्णसंवादः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Appeal and Kṛṣṇa’s Assurance
Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 59
वने वनितया सार्धमवसल्लक्ष्मणाग्रज: । वे अत्यन्त तेजस्वी थे और उनमें असंख्य गुण विद्यमान थे। अपनी मर्यादासे कभी च्युत न होनेवाले लक्ष्मणके बड़े भाई श्रीरामने पिताकी आज्ञासे चौदह वर्षोतक अपनी पत्नी सीता (और भाई लक्ष्मण) के साथ वनमें निवास किया था,आजानुबाहु: सुभुज: सिंहस्कन्धो महाबल: । दशवर्षसहस्राणि दशवर्षशतानि च चतुर्विधा: प्रजा राम: स्वर्ग नीत्वा दिवं गत:
nārada uvāca |
vane vanitayā sārdham avasallakṣmaṇāgrajaḥ |
ājānubāhuḥ subhujaḥ siṁhaskandho mahābalaḥ |
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi daśavarṣaśatāni ca |
caturvidhāḥ prajā rāmaḥ svargaṁ nītvā divaṁ gataḥ |
Narada said: Lakshmana’s elder brother, Rama, lived in the forest together with his wife. Long-armed, strong-armed, lion-shouldered, and mighty, he upheld the fourfold order of his subjects for ten thousand years and ten hundreds more; having led them to heaven, Rama himself departed to the celestial realm. The passage evokes Rama as the exemplar of steadfast dharma—accepting hardship without deviating from propriety and ruling in a way that elevates his people ethically and spiritually.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Rama as a paradigm of dharma: he accepts forest-life without moral deviation and later rules so righteously that his subjects are said to attain heavenly welfare. Ethical leadership is portrayed as self-restraint, fidelity to duty, and governance that uplifts society.
Narada recalls Rama’s life: dwelling in the forest with his wife (and implicitly with Lakshmana), describing Rama’s heroic bodily marks, then summarizing his long reign and final departure to heaven after ensuring the well-being of his people.