Shloka 102
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
वारणावततयात्रायां मन्त्रो दुर्योधनस्य च । कूटस्य धार्तराष्ट्रेण प्रेषणं पाण्डवान् प्रति,लाक्षागृहदाहपर्वमें पाण्डवोंकी वारणावत-यात्राके प्रसंगमें दुर्योधनके गुप्त षड़्यन्त्रका वर्णन है। उसका पाण्डवोंके पास कूटनीतिज्ञ पुरोचनको भेजनेका भी प्रसंग है। मार्गमें विदुरजीने बुद्धिमान् युधिष्ठिरके हितके लिये म्लेच्छभाषामें जो हितोपदेश किया, उसका भी वर्णन है
vāraṇāvatatayātrāyāṁ mantro duryodhanasya ca | kūṭasya dhārtarāṣṭreṇa preṣaṇaṁ pāṇḍavān prati |
叙及般度五子（Pāṇḍavas）前往伐罗那伐多（Vāraṇāvata）之行，文中描写了都利约陀那（Duryodhana）的密谋，以及持国一派所筹划的欺诈之计——即遣一狡黠之人以害般度五子。此处立起鲜明的伦理对照：一边是由非达摩（adharma）驱使的暗中阴谋，一边是为护持正法而应有的警觉守护；不久之后，这种警觉将被郑重劝告，以保般度五子之安危。
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral danger of kūṭa (deceit) in politics: when power is pursued through secret plots against the innocent, it marks a turn toward adharma. The broader episode contrasts such covert wrongdoing with the need for discernment and protective counsel in upholding dharma.
As the Pāṇḍavas are being sent to Vāraṇāvata, Duryodhana and the Dhārtarāṣṭra party form a secret plan and arrange for a deceptive agent to be dispatched against them—setting the stage for the lac-house (lākṣāgṛha) plot and the warnings that will follow.