Shloka 17
Book 3 (Āraṇyaka-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Alliance Gathering; Arjuna’s Praise of Keśava; Draupadī’s Duḥkha-nivedana; Assurances and Vows
अहो कृच्छ्मनुप्राप्ता: सर्वे सम भरतर्षभ | सोऊहं त्वां व्यसने मग्नं पश्यामि सह सोदरै:,भरतकुलभूषण! अहो! आप सब लोग बड़ी कठिनाईमें पड़ गये हैं। मैं तो आपको सब भाइयोंसहित विपत्तिके समुद्रमें डूबा हुआ देख रहा हूँ
aho kṛcchram anuprāptāḥ sarve sma bharatarṣabha | so ’haṃ tvāṃ vyasane magnaṃ paśyāmi saha sodaraiḥ ||
Vāyu said: “Alas, O bull among the Bharatas, you have all fallen into grievous hardship. I see you—together with your brothers—sunk in the depths of calamity. O ornament of the Bharata lineage, this distress has overtaken you all.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights compassionate recognition of suffering and frames adversity (vyasana) as a profound moral test. By addressing the hero as “bharatarṣabha,” it reinforces that nobility is shown not by comfort but by steadiness and dharmic conduct amid hardship.
Vāyudeva speaks to a Bharata prince (implicitly the Pāṇḍava leader) and laments that he and his brothers have been overtaken by severe distress. The imagery of being ‘sunk’ in calamity underscores the depth of their crisis during the forest-exile context.