Shloka 12
Śamī-vṛkṣe śastra-nidhāna and Entry into Virāṭa’s Capital (शमीवृक्षे शस्त्रनिधानम्)
ततो द्वादश वर्षाणि प्रवेष्टव्यं वने पुन: । एकस्मिन्नपि विज्ञाते प्रतिज्ञातं हि नस्तथा,“यदि हममेंसे एक भी पहचान लिया गया, तो हमें दुबारा बारह वर्षोंके लिये वनमें प्रवेश करना पड़ेगा; क्योंकि हमने ऐसी ही प्रतिज्ञा कर रखी है”
tato dvādaśa varṣāṇi praveṣṭavyaṃ vane punaḥ | ekasminn api vijñāte pratijñātaṃ hi nas tathā ||
于是（众人约定）：我们必须再度入林十二年。因为只要我们之中哪怕一人被认出，我们所立之誓便仍如先前宣告那般生效——这正是我们曾立下的誓约。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A solemn vow (pratijñā) creates a binding moral obligation: even a single breach—being recognized—requires accepting the stipulated consequence. The verse highlights dharma as fidelity to one’s pledged word, not merely convenience or external enforcement.
Vaiśampāyana states the condition attached to the protagonists’ concealment: if any one among them is identified, they must return to forest-exile for another twelve years, because that was the agreed pledge.