Shloka 18
Prabhāsa-tīrthe Vṛṣṇi–Pāṇḍava-saṅgamaḥ; Halī Rāmasya dharma-vimarśaḥ
Meeting at Prabhāsa and Balarāma’s Reflection on Dharma
यः सिन्धुकूले व्यजयन्नूदेवान् समागतान् दाक्षिणात्यान् महीपान् | तं पश्यतेमं सहदेवमद्य तरस्विनं तापसवेषरूपम्,जो पूर्वदिशामें (दिग्विजयकी यात्राके समय) केवल एक रथ लेकर युद्धमें बहुत-से राजाओंको सेवकोंसहित परास्त करके सकुशल लौट आये थे, वे ही अतिरथी और वेगशाली वीर वृकोदर आज वनमें वल्कल वस्त्र पहनकर कष्ट भोग रहे हैं। जिसने समुद्र- तटपर सामना करनेके लिये आये हुए दक्षिण दिशाके सम्पूर्ण राजाओंपर विजय पायी थी, उसी वेगवान् वीर इस सहदेवको देखो--यह आज तपस्वीकी-सी वेषभूषा धारण किये हुए दुःख पा रहा है
yaḥ sindhu-kūle vyajayann udevān samāgatān dākṣiṇātyān mahīpān | taṃ paśyatemaṃ sahadevam adya tarasvinaṃ tāpasa-veṣa-rūpam ||
Baladeva said: “He who, on the bank of the Sindhu, defeated the assembled kings of the southern quarter who had come forth to oppose him—look at that very Sahadeva today: swift in prowess, yet wearing the guise of an ascetic. Such is the reversal of fortune that even a conqueror of kings now endures hardship in the forest.”
बलदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly power and the ethical endurance demanded by dharma: even a victorious kṣatriya may be compelled to accept hardship and an ascetic-like life when duty and circumstance require it.
Baladeva points out Sahadeva, reminding listeners that this same warrior once defeated assembled southern kings near the Sindhu, yet is now seen in the forest wearing an ascetic guise—underscoring the Pandavas’ fallen condition during exile.