Shloka 4
भीष्मपतनविषये धृतराष्ट्रस्य प्रश्नाः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Questions on Bhīṣma’s Fall
निकारो निकृतिप्रज्जै: पाण्डवैस्त्वत्प्रतीक्षया | अनुभूत: सहामात्यै: क्षान्तश्न सुचिरं वने
nikāro nikṛtiprajñaiḥ pāṇḍavaistvatpratīkṣayā | anubhūtaḥ sahāmātyaiḥ kṣāntaś ca suciraṁ vane ||
Sañjaya thưa: “Các Pāṇḍava—biết rõ những sự sỉ nhục và mưu trá đã giáng xuống mình—vẫn nhẫn chịu rất lâu trong rừng cùng các đại thần, cam chịu gian khổ với lòng kiên nhẫn, bởi họ vẫn hướng về bệ hạ, mong bệ hạ sẽ hành xử theo lẽ công bằng.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when wronged, the Pāṇḍavas practice kṣamā (forbearance) and restraint, not from ignorance but from ethical discipline and hope that rightful authority will uphold justice; the verse also implies a ruler’s duty to respond to injustice rather than allow it to fester.
Sañjaya reminds the king that the Pāṇḍavas clearly knew they had been insulted and deceived, yet they accepted prolonged hardship in forest-exile with their advisers, waiting for the king to act justly toward them.