Shloka 12
Bhāgīrathī-tīra-śauca, Kurukṣetra-gamana, and Śatayūpa-āśrama-dīkṣā (गङ्गातीरशौच–कुरुक्षेत्रगमन–शतयूपाश्रमदीक्षा)
अपि मे जननी चेयं शुश्रूषुर्विगतक्लमा । अथास्या: सफलो राजन् वनवासो भविष्यति,युधिष्ठिर बोले--राजन्! (मेरे यहाँ सब कुशल है) आपके तप, इन्द्रियसंयम और मनोनिग्रह आदि सदगुणोंकी वृद्धि तो हो रही है न? ये मेरी माता कुन्ती आपकी सेवा- शुश्रूषा करनेमें क्लेशका अनुभव तो नहीं करतीं? क्या इनका वनवास सफल होगा?
api me jananī ceyaṁ śuśrūṣur vigataklamā | athāsyāḥ saphalo rājan vanavāso bhaviṣyati |
యుధిష్ఠిరుడు అన్నాడు—సేవలో ఎల్లప్పుడూ నిమగ్నమై ఉండే నా తల్లి ఇక్కడ అలసటలేకుండా ఉన్నదా? అలా అయితే, ఓ రాజా, ఆమె వనవాసం నిశ్చయంగా ఫలప్రదమగును.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames renunciation and hardship as meaningful when grounded in dharma: sincere service (śuśrūṣā) performed without complaint becomes a source of spiritual ‘fruit’ (saphalatā). It also highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s ethical sensitivity—measuring success not by status but by the well-being and voluntary devotion of elders.
In the Āśramavāsika context, the elders have withdrawn to forest life. Yudhiṣṭhira, concerned for his mother Kuntī, asks whether she is able to serve attentively without fatigue; if she can sustain this service in the forest, he considers her forest-dwelling to have achieved its intended purpose.