Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)
प्लक्षानुदुम्बरबटानश्वत्थान् क्षीरिकांस्तथा । भल्लातकानामलकी्हरीतकबिभीतकान्
plakṣān udumbarabaṭān aśvatthān kṣīrikāṁs tathā | bhallātakān āmalakī harītaka bibhītakān |
Vaiśampāyana disse: “(Eles viram/havia) árvores plakṣa, figueiras udumbara, banyans, aśvattha (a figueira sagrada) e também a kṣīrikā de seiva leitosa; do mesmo modo bhallātaka, āmalakī, harītaka e bibhītaka.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse reinforces how the epic situates dharma within concrete lived conditions: the exiles’ world is the forest with its resources and hardships. Attention to the natural setting underscores endurance, restraint, and adaptability—ethical steadiness amid austere surroundings.
The narrator lists prominent forest trees and medicinal plants encountered/observed, painting the environment of the Vana Parva episode and emphasizing the wilderness context in which the characters’ actions and vows unfold.