भारतं सह भार्याभ्यां बाणखड्गधनुर्धरम् ॥
विचित्रकवचं वीरं परमास्त्रविदं नृपम् ॥
देवो ऽयम् इत्य् अमन्यन्त चरन्तं वनवासिनः ॥
तस्य कामांश् च भोगांश् च नरा नित्यम् अतन्द्रिताः ॥
उपजह्रुर् वनान्तेषु धृतराष्ट्रेण चोदिताः ॥
bhārataṃ saha bhāryābhyāṃ bāṇakhaḍgadhanurdharam ||
vicitrakavacaṃ vīraṃ paramāstravidaṃ nṛpam ||
devo 'yam ity amanyanta carantaṃ vanavāsinaḥ ||
tasya kāmāṃś ca bhogāṃś ca narā nityam atandritāḥ ||
upajahrur vanānteṣu dhṛtarāṣṭreṇa coditāḥ ||
"Bharata, together with his two wives, bearing arrows, sword, and bow, in wondrous armor, the hero-king versed in the highest weapons, wandering thus — the forest dwellers took him for a god. And the people, ever tireless, urged on by Dhritarashtra, constantly brought him every delight and enjoyment within the forest confines."
ff2e3d7a633c · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
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Here both Pandu's greatness and his elder brother's care for him come to light. It is telling that the forest dwellers take him for a god: Pandu's kingly bearing and valor are so evident that even in the forest he shines with an otherworldly majesty. Telling too is Dhritarashtra's solicitude: though himself passed over for the throne, he harbors no envy (as yet), but sends his brother everything needed in the forest — an image of brotherly love not yet clouded by enmity. Here is a bright moment of concord between the brothers, one that will throw into relief the discord to come among their sons: Dhritarashtra and Pandu themselves live in love, which makes it all the more bitter that the strife between the Kauravas and the Pandavas will flare up not from their own enmity but from the willfulness of their descendants. Thus the scripture preserves the memory of a good beginning before showing its darkening.