Shloka 9
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
यत् तद् द्वादश वर्षाणि वनेषु हुषिता वयम् । छटद्माना शरदं चैकां धृतराष्ट्रस्य शासनात्
yad tad dvādaśa varṣāṇi vaneṣu uṣitā vayam | chadmanā śaradaṃ caikāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya śāsanāt, prabho |
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O Panginoon, ang labindalawang taon naming paninirahan sa gubat, at ang nag-iisang taong aming itinago ang aming pagkakakilanlan—lahat ng iyon ay tiniis namin sa utos ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Sa pagtitiwalang mananatili siya sa kaniyang ipinangakong salita, sinunod namin ang kaniyang kautusan. Hindi namin nilabag ang aming panata; alam ito ng lahat ng mga brāhmaṇa na nakasama namin.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as fidelity to one’s pledged word: Yudhiṣṭhira grounds moral and political legitimacy in strict observance of the agreed exile and incognito terms, supported by credible witnesses (the Brahmins).
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Yudhiṣṭhira asserts that the Pāṇḍavas completed the required twelve-year forest exile and one-year concealed stay under Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s order, and that they did not break their vow—thereby strengthening their rightful claim and moral standing.