Shloka 19
Chapter 26: Śoka-pratiṣedha, Hata-saṅkhyā, Gati-vibhāga, Pretakārya-ājñā
Restraint of Grief, Count of the Slain, Destinies, and Funerary Directives
धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--बेटा! किस ज्ञानबलसे तुम इस तरह सिद्ध पुरुषोंके समान सब कुछ प्रत्यक्ष देख रहे हो। महाबाहो! यदि मेरे सुननेयोग्य हो तो बताओ ।। युधिछिर उवाच निदेशाद् भवतः पूर्व वने विचरता मया । तीर्थयात्राप्रसजड्रेन सम्प्राप्तोडयमनुग्रह:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | nideśād bhavataḥ pūrvaṁ vane vicaratā mayā | tīrthayātrāprasaktena samprāpto ’yam anugrahaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Earlier, acting on your instruction, I wandered in the forest. Being devoted to pilgrimage and sacred journeys, I obtained this grace (anugraha).”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira attributes extraordinary insight not to personal pride but to disciplined dharmic practice—obedience to elders, forest-dwelling austerity, and especially tīrtha-yātrā—through which ‘anugraha’ (grace) is gained. The verse frames spiritual perception as a fruit of humility and meritorious conduct rather than mere power.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks how Yudhiṣṭhira can perceive events with the clarity of perfected sages. Yudhiṣṭhira answers that earlier, following Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s own directive, he roamed the forest and became devoted to pilgrimages; from that course of life he obtained a special blessing enabling such perception.