Shloka 18

Devanagari script

वर्ष त्रयोदशमिदं मत्प्रसादात्‌ कुरूद्वहा: | विराटनगरे गूढा अविज्ञाताश्चरिष्यथ,“कुरुनन्दन पाण्डवगण! मेरी कृपासे तुमलोग तेरहवें वर्षमें गुप्तरूपसे विराटनगरमें रहते हुए किसीसे भी पहचाने न जाकर विचरण करोगे

Transliteration

varṣa trayodaśam idaṃ matprasādāt kurūdvaḥāḥ | virāṭanagare gūḍhā avijñātāś cariṣyatha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik antara kaum Kuru, dengan kurnia perkenanku kamu akan melalui tahun ketiga belas ini dalam penyamaran—bersembunyi di kota Virāṭa dan bergerak ke sana sini tanpa dikenali.”

Word by Word

वर्षyear (as a duration)

त्रयोदशम्thirteenth

इदम्this

मत्of me / my

प्रसादात्from (my) favor/grace

कुरूद्वहाःO best of the Kurus

विराटनगरेin the city of Virāṭa

गूढाःhidden, in disguise

अविज्ञाताःunrecognized

चरिष्यथyou will move about / live

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍavas

Virāṭa-nagara (city of Virāṭa)

Kuru lineage (Kurus)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic value of disciplined restraint and strategic concealment: success in a righteous goal may require patience, secrecy, and reliance on earned grace rather than open force.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker foretells/assures that the Pāṇḍavas will complete their required thirteenth year of exile in anonymity, residing in Virāṭa’s city without being recognized.