Shloka 11
सुरभि–इन्द्रसंवादः
Surabhi–Indra Dialogue as a Governance Exemplar
मैत्रेय उदाच तीर्थयात्रामनुक्रामन् प्राप्तो5स्मि कुरुजाड्लान् । यदृच्छया धर्मराजं दृष्टवान् काम्यके वने,मैत्रेयजीने कहा--राजन! मैं तीर्थयात्राके प्रसंगसे घूमता हुआ अकस्मात् कुरुजांगल देशमें चला आया हूँ। काम्यकवनमें धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरसे भी मेरी भेंट हुई थी
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca: Maitreya uvāca—tīrthayātrām anukrāman prāpto ’smi Kurujāṅgalān; yadṛcchayā Dharmarājaṃ dṛṣṭavān Kāmyake vane.
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Maitreya said—“While proceeding on a pilgrimage from one sacred ford to another, I have arrived in the land of Kurujāṅgala. By chance I also met Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) in the Kāmyaka forest.” The statement frames the encounter as providential and dharma-oriented: a wandering sage, guided by pilgrimage and circumstance, comes into contact with the righteous king in exile.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic pattern in the epic: pilgrimage and ascetic wandering create occasions for moral counsel. The meeting is presented as ‘yadṛcchayā’ (apparently accidental), yet it functions as a meaningful convergence where a sage can guide a righteous but afflicted king.
Maitreya reports that, while traveling on pilgrimage, he has come to the Kurujāṅgala region and has met Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira in the Kāmyaka forest, setting up the context for subsequent dialogue or admonition.