Shloka 1
Kurukṣetra–Sarasvatī Tīrtha-Māhātmya
Pilgrimage Merits and Sacred Geography
हि आय न [हुक है ० - जिनके मारनेपर मारनेवाला पवित्र हो जाय, ऐसे हिंसक सिंह-व्याप्रादि पशुओंको पवित्र मृग कहा जाता है। एकाशीतितमो<ध्याय: युधिष्ठटिरके पास देवर्षि नारदका आगमन और तीर्थयात्राके फलके सम्बन्धमें पूछनेपर नारदजीद्वारा भीष्म-पुलस्त्य- संवादकी प्रस्तावना वैशम्पायन उवाच धनंजयोत्सुकानां तु भ्रातृणां कृष्णया सह । श्रुत्वा वाक्यानि विमना धर्मराजो5प्यजायत,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! धनंजयके लिये उत्सुक द्रौपदीसहित सब भाइयोंके पूर्वोक्त वचन सुनकर धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरका भी मन बहुत उदास हो गया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dhanañjayotsukānāṃ tu bhrātṝṇāṃ kṛṣṇayā saha | śrutvā vākyāni vimanā dharmarājo 'py ajāyata ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, when Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira heard the earlier words spoken by his brothers—together with Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)—all of them eager for Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), his own mind too became downcast.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight borne by Dharmarāja: even as a righteous king, he is emotionally affected by his family’s anxious longing for Arjuna, showing that dharma includes empathetic responsiveness and shared responsibility, not emotional detachment.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that Yudhiṣṭhira becomes dispirited after hearing the brothers’ and Draupadī’s words expressing eagerness and concern regarding Arjuna, setting a somber tone for the events that follow.