Shloka 3
Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)
समाक्षतस्रो5भिगता: शिवेन चरतां वने । कृतोद्देश: स बीभत्सु: पजचमीमभित: समाम्,“हमलोगोंको कुशलपूर्वक वनमें विचरते हुए चार वर्ष हो गये। अर्जुनने यह संकेत किया था कि मैं पाँचवें वर्षमें लौट आऊँगा
samākṣatasro 'bhigatāḥ śivena caratāṃ vane | kṛtoddeśaḥ sa bībhatsuḥ pañcamīm abhitaḥ samām |
‘आपण कुशलतेने वनात विचरत चार वर्षे पूर्ण केली आहेत. बीभत्सु (अर्जुन) ने ठरावीक संकेत व वेळ निश्चित करून सांगितले होते की तो पाचव्या वर्षाच्या सुमारास परत येईल.’
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores steadiness in keeping agreed terms during hardship: even in exile, one should maintain clarity of intention (uddeśa) and fidelity to a promised time, while valuing auspicious conduct and safety (śiva) rather than reckless action.
The narrator marks the passage of time in the Pandavas’ forest life: four years have safely elapsed, and Arjuna—called Bībhatsu—had earlier set a sign/appointment indicating his return would be around the fifth year.