Shloka 1
Kuntī–Sūrya-saṃvāda: Autonomy, Reputation, and the Promise of Karṇa
मार्कण्डेयजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! उन दोनों भाई श्रीराम और लक्ष्मणको पृथ्वीपर पड़े देख रावणकुमार इन्द्रजितने जिनके लिये देवताओंका वर प्राप्त था, उन बाणोंद्वारा उन्हें सब ओरसे बाँध लिया
Mārkaṇḍeya uvāca—Yudhiṣṭhira! tau ubhau bhrātarau Śrīrāma-Lakṣmaṇau pṛthivyāṃ patitau dṛṣṭvā Rāvaṇa-putra Indrajit, devatābhyo labdha-varaiḥ taiḥ bāṇaiḥ, tābhyāṃ sarvataḥ bandhanaṃ cakāra.
Sinabi ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “O Yudhiṣṭhira! Nang makita ni Indrajit, anak ni Rāvaṇa, na nakahandusay sa lupa ang dalawang magkapatid—si Śrī Rāma at si Lakṣmaṇa—ginapos niya sila sa lahat ng panig sa pamamagitan ng mga palasong yaon na pinagkalooban sa kaniya ng mga diyos.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the righteous can face overpowering adversity when opponents wield extraordinary, divinely sanctioned powers; dharma is tested not only by victory but by steadfastness and restraint amid suffering and apparent defeat.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates to Yudhiṣṭhira an episode from the Rāma story: Indrajit, empowered by boons, uses special arrows to bind Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa as they lie fallen on the battlefield, tightening the crisis before their eventual recovery.