Shloka 16
सहदेवस्तथेत्यक्त्वा तां दिशं प्रत्यपद्यत । ददर्श च हतं भूमौ भ्रातरं नकुलं तदा,तब सहदेव “बहुत अच्छा” कहकर उसी दिशाकी ओर चल दिये। वहाँ पहुँचकर उन्होंने देखा, भाई नकुल पृथ्वीपर मरे पड़े हैं
sahadevas tathety uktvā tāṃ diśaṃ pratyapadyata | dadarśa ca hataṃ bhūmau bhrātaraṃ nakulaṃ tadā ||
Sahadeva replied, “So be it,” and set out in that very direction. When he arrived, he saw his brother Nakula lying slain upon the ground—an ominous sign that mere confidence or haste, without discernment and restraint, can lead one into the same peril that has already overcome others.
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a moral pattern central to the Yakṣa episode: when one ignores caution and proper inquiry, one may repeat the same mistake and suffer the same consequence. It prepares the ethical ground for the coming emphasis on restraint, humility, and right questioning as aspects of dharma.
After agreeing (“so be it”), Sahadeva goes in the indicated direction and discovers that Nakula is lying dead on the ground. This escalates the tension of the episode, showing that multiple brothers have already fallen into danger at the same place.