Shloka 5
गान्धारीपुत्रोत्पत्तिः — The Birth of Gāndhārī’s Hundred Sons (and Yuyutsu); Omens and Counsel on Succession
अनुसार्यमाणा बहुभी रक्षिभिर्भरतर्षभ । ते तस्यावसथे लोप्नं दस्यथव: कुरुसत्तम
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: anusāryamāṇā bahubhir rakṣibhir bharatarṣabha, te tasyāvasathe lopnaṃ dasyavaḥ kurusattama janamejaya; bhayāt prajā-rakṣa-senāyā āgamanāt pūrvam eva tatraiva kvacid apakrāntāḥ. teṣāṃ nilīnānāṃ rakṣiṇāṃ senā śīghram upāgamat. rājann, corān anusarantāḥ te janāḥ tapasyāyāṃ ratān taṃ maharṣiṃ dṛṣṭvā papracchuḥ—“dvijaśreṣṭha, brūhi, kena mārgeṇa corāḥ palāyitāḥ, yena vayaṃ tam eva mārgaṃ gṛhītvā tvarayā teṣāṃ paścād gacchema.”
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“婆罗多族之雄啊，众多卫士正追逐那些盗贼。俱卢族之最、阇那美阇耶啊，那群盗贼惊惧之下，将赃物寄放在那位大牟尼的林庵中，趁王家护民之军未至，便在近旁潜藏。待其藏匿之后，守卫之众迅速赶到。追捕者见那苦行者沉浸于苦修，便问道：‘两生之最啊，请告知——盗贼从哪条路逃走？婆罗门啊，我们愿循此路疾追。’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up a classic dharma-conflict: society’s protectors seek justice, while a sage devoted to austerity is drawn into a morally charged question about truth-telling that may enable harm. It highlights how even a renunciant can be confronted by competing duties—truth, non-injury, and social order.
Robbers, chased by guards, stash stolen goods at a sage’s hermitage and hide nearby. The pursuing guards arrive and, seeing the sage, ask him which route the thieves took so they can continue the chase quickly.