Shloka 23
Nahūṣa as Ajagara: Virtue Hierarchy, Karmic Gati, and the Psychology of Mind–Intellect
प्लक्षाक्षरोहीतकवेतसाश्र तथा बदर्य: खदिरा: शिरीषा: बिल्वेड्गुदा: पीलुशमीकरीरा: सरस्वतीतीररुहा बभूवु:,सरस्वतीके तटपर पाकड़, बहेड़ा, रोहितक, बेंत, बेर, खैर, सिरस, बेल, इंगुदी, पीलु, शमी और करीर आदिके वृक्ष खड़े थे। वह नदी यक्ष, गन्धर्व और महर्षियोंको प्रिय थी। देवताओंकी तो वह मानो बस्ती ही थी। राजपुत्र पाण्डव बड़ी प्रसन्नता और सुखसे वहाँ विचरने और निवास करने लगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | plakṣākṣa-rohītaka-vetasa-āśrāḥ tathā badaryaḥ khadirāḥ śirīṣāḥ bilva-iṅgudāḥ pīlu-śamī-karīrāḥ sarasvatī-tīra-ruhā babhūvuḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sa mga pampang ng Sarasvatī ay nakatindig nang siksik ang maraming punò—plakṣa, akṣa, rohītaka, vetasa; gayundin ang badarī (jujube), khadira, śirīṣa, at ang bilva, iṅgudī, pīlu, śamī at karīra—na tumutubo nang makapal sa gilid ng ilog. Ang ilog na iyon ay minamahal ng mga Yakṣa, Gandharva, at ng mga dakilang ṛṣi; wari’y isang tahanan ng mga diyos. Ang mga Pāṇḍava, mga anak ng hari, ay namuhay at naglibot doon nang may galak at ginhawa.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how a sacred, orderly natural environment supports dharmic living: in exile, the Pāṇḍavas are sustained not only by food and shelter but by a setting associated with sages and divine beings, encouraging calm, self-control, and perseverance.
The narrator describes the Sarasvatī’s riverbank, thick with named trees and vegetation, as the Pāṇḍavas move through or dwell in this region during their forest exile, finding a pleasing and spiritually resonant place to stay.