Shloka 13
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
तस्मिन् निपतिते वीरे नकुले चारुदर्शने । पुनरेव तदा भीमो राजानमिदमब्रवीत्,मनोहर दिखायी देनेवाले वीर नकुलके धराशायी होनेपर भीमसेनने पुनः राजा युधिष्ठिरसे यह प्रश्न किया--
tasmin nipatite vīre nakule cārudarśane | punar eva tadā bhīmo rājānam idam abravīt |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。見目麗しい勇士ナクーラが地に倒れると、ビーマセーナは再びユディシュティラ王に向かい、この問いを発した。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Each companion’s fall on the great departure is treated as a moral mirror: even eminent persons may carry subtle partialities or attachments. The narrative frames spiritual progress as requiring impartiality, inner discipline, and freedom from hidden preferences—tested not by words but by the consequences that unfold on the path.
After Nakula collapses on the journey, Bhīma turns again to Yudhiṣṭhira and asks why this has happened. The verse functions as a transition: it marks Nakula’s fall and sets up Yudhiṣṭhira’s forthcoming ethical explanation of the specific inner fault or imbalance that led to it.