Shloka 20
तेषां समुपविष्टानां नकुलो दुःखितस्तदा । अब्रवीद् भ्रातरं श्रेष्ठममर्षात् कुरुनन्दनम्,उनके बैठ जानेपर नकुल अत्यन्त दुःखी हो अमर्षमें आकर बड़े भाई कुरुनन्दन युधिष्ठिरसे इस प्रकार बोले---
teṣāṃ samupaviṣṭānāṃ nakulo duḥkhitas tadā | abravīd bhrātaraṃ śreṣṭham amarṣāt kurunandanaṃ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: When they had all sat down, Nakula, overwhelmed with sorrow, spoke in a surge of indignation to his eldest brother—Yudhiṣṭhira, the delight of the Kurus. The moment signals a moral tension: grief turns into righteous anger, and a younger brother challenges the elder’s stance, testing patience, restraint, and the demands of dharma within the family.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense grief can transform into indignation, creating a test of dharma within relationships: the younger brother’s anger challenges the elder’s leadership, while the elder is implicitly called to respond with steadiness, patience, and ethical clarity.
After the group sits down, Nakula—deeply distressed—addresses his eldest brother Yudhiṣṭhira. The narration sets up an impending speech or reproach, indicating a moment of emotional pressure and moral debate among the Pāṇḍavas.