Shloka 18
Dvaītavana: Brahmaghoṣa, Rṣi-saṅgha, and Baka Dālbhyā’s Upadeśa to Yudhiṣṭhira
तच्च राजन्नपश्यन्त्या: का शान्तिहंदयस्य मे | यत् ते भ्रातृन् महाराज युवानो मृष्टकुण्डला:,राजन्! आज वह सब न देखनेके कारण मेरे हृदयको क्या शान्ति मिलेगी? महाराज! आपके जिन भाइयोंको कानोंमें सुन्दर कुण्डल पहने हुए तरुण रसोइये अच्छे प्रकारसे बनाये हुए स्वादिष्ट अन्न परोसकर भोजन कराया करते थे, उन सबको आज वनमें जंगली फल-मूलसे जीवन-निर्वाह करते देख रही हूँ
tac ca rājann apaśyantyāḥ kā śāntir hṛdayasya me | yat te bhrātṝn mahārāja yuvāno mṛṣṭa-kuṇḍalāḥ ||
Ó rei, se eu não os vir, que paz poderá encontrar o meu coração? Pois, ó grande rei, esses teus irmãos ainda jovens—outrora adornados com brincos reluzentes e servidos por cozinheiros moços com iguarias deliciosas, preparadas com esmero—agora eu os vejo na floresta, sustentando-se de frutos e raízes silvestres.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and emotional weight of exile: true suffering is not only physical deprivation but the anguish of seeing loved ones fall from dignity and comfort into hardship. It evokes compassion and underscores endurance of dharma amid reversals of fortune.
A speaker laments that her heart cannot find peace when she witnesses (or cannot bear to witness) the king’s young brothers—formerly well-adorned and served fine meals—now living in the forest, surviving on wild fruits and roots.