Shloka 19

Devanagari script

पुरा द्वैतवने चासि मया पुत्र परीक्षित: । पानीयार्थे पराक्रान्ता यत्र ते भ्रातरो हता:

Transliteration

purā dvaitavane cāsi mayā putra parīkṣitaḥ | pānīyārthe parākrāntā yatra te bhrātaro hatāḥ ||

Translation

Dharmarāja berkata: “Dahulu, di rimba Dvaitavana, wahai anakku, engkau pernah diuji olehku—ketika engkau pergi dengan tekad untuk mengambil air, di tempat yang sama di mana saudara-saudaramu terbaring terbunuh.”

Word by Word

• पुरा: formerly, once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• द्वैतवने: in the Dvaitavana (forest)
• द्वैतवने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वैतवन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• असि: you were/are
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, 2, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: Common, Instrumental, Singular

• पुत्र: O son
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• परीक्षितः: tested, examined
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + ईक्ष्
• Form: Past Passive Participle (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पानीयार्थे: for the sake of water
• पानीयार्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पानीय + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पराक्रान्ताः: having set forth/advanced
• Type: Verb
• Root: परा + क्रम्
• Form: Past Active Participle (kta/ktavatu sense), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यत्र: where
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र

• ते: your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Common, Genitive, Singular

• भ्रातरः: brothers
• भ्रातरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हताः: were slain, were struck down
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Past Passive Participle (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

धर्मरज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Parīkṣit
• Dvaitavana (forest)
• the brothers (Pāṇḍavas, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse invokes a remembered ‘test’ to highlight steadiness under trial: righteous conduct is proved not in comfort but when one must act with resolve amid fear, loss, and moral pressure.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dharmarāja addresses Parīkṣit and recalls an earlier incident in the Dvaitavana forest: Parīkṣit went to fetch water, and this moment is framed as a deliberate test by Dharmarāja, set against the grim scene where the brothers were found slain.