Shloka 28
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
नाविद्यत तदा विप्रा: संचयस्तन्निबोधत । क्षीणौषधिसमावेशे द्रव्यहीनो5भवत् तदा
na avidyat tadā viprāḥ sañcayas tan nibodhata | kṣīṇauṣadhi-samāveśe dravya-hīno 'bhavat tadā brāhmaṇo, suno | eka-samaye tatra mahān bhayaṅkaraḥ akālaḥ apatat | teṣu dineṣu dharmātmanaḥ brāhmaṇasya anna-sañcayo na āsīt, kṣetra-annaṃ ca śuṣyati sma | ataḥ sa sarvathā nirdhano 'bhavat |
那俱罗说道：“当知此事：那时诸婆罗门皆无储备。草药与庄稼枯竭之际，那位婆罗门也失尽一切资财，孩子啊。确有一场巨大而可怖的饥荒袭来。那些日子里，这位持法的婆罗门既无余粮，田间收成亦尽干枯；于是他彻底陷入贫困。”
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how external calamity (famine) can strip even a righteous person of material support, setting the ethical stage for dharmic choices under scarcity—where virtue is tested not in abundance but in deprivation.
Nakula describes a severe famine: crops and herbs have dried up, there is no stored grain among the brahmins, and a particular righteous brahmin becomes completely destitute—preparing the context for subsequent actions and moral decisions.