Shloka 18
Daitya-āśvāsana of Duryodhana; Karṇa’s assurance and the mobilization of the Kaurava host
शकुनिरुवाच धर्मज्ञ: पाण्डवो ज्येष्ठ: प्रतिज्ञातं च संसदि | तेन द्वादश वर्षाणि वस्तव्यानीति भारत,शकुनि बोला--भारत! ज्येष्ठ पाण्डव युधिष्ठिर धर्मात्मा हैं। उन्होंने भरी सभामें यह प्रतिज्ञा की है कि “हमें बारह वर्षोतक वनमें रहना है”
śakunir uvāca—dharmajñaḥ pāṇḍavo jyeṣṭhaḥ pratijñātaṃ ca saṃsadi | tena dvādaśa varṣāṇi vastavyānīti bhārata ||
Śakuni disse: “Ó Bhārata, Yudhiṣṭhira, o mais velho dos Pāṇḍavas, é conhecedor do dharma. Em plena assembleia fez um voto solene; por isso ficou acordado que devem habitar por doze anos (no exílio).”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
A public vow (pratijñā) binds the speaker; dharma includes steadfastness to one’s word even when it leads to suffering. The verse highlights ethical accountability in speech and commitment.
Śakuni reminds (the addressed Bhārata, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra) that Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest Pāṇḍava and a dharma-knower, made a pledge in the royal assembly, and thus the Pāṇḍavas are obligated to undergo twelve years of forest-dwelling/exile.