Shloka 20
Adhyāya 3: Indra’s Invitation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Refusal to Abandon the Dog
Svargārohaṇa Test
बेटा! पूर्वकालमें द्वैतववनके भीतर रहते समय भी एक बार मैंने तुम्हारी परीक्षा ली थी; जब कि तुम्हारे सभी भाई पानी लानेके लिये उद्योग करते हुए मारे गये थे ।।
bhīmārjunau parityajya yatra tvaṃ bhrātarāv ubhau | mātroḥ sāmyam abhīpsan vai nakulaṃ jīvam icchasi ||
达摩罗阇说道：“先前我们住在德外多婆那森林时，我曾试你一次——当你诸兄弟为取水而奋力前往，却尽皆倒下之际。彼处你舍却毗摩与阿周那，选择救那俱罗，只因你愿在两位母亲之间持守公平。”
धर्मरज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as impartial justice: Yudhiṣṭhira praises the choice grounded in fairness to both mothers (Kuntī and Mādrī), showing that ethical decisions should not be driven only by strength, utility, or personal preference, but by equity and duty.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls an earlier forest episode in Dvaitavana when his brothers collapsed while seeking water. In that crisis he tested the moral discernment of his kin; the remembered choice was to save Nakula—despite Bhīma and Arjuna being more powerful—because it preserved balance between the two maternal lines.