जनमेजय उवाच
भगवन् काम्यकात् पार्थे गते मे प्रपितामहे ॥
पाण्डवाः किम् अकुर्वन्त तम् ऋते सव्यसाचिनम् ॥
स हि तेषां महेष्वासो गतिर् आसीद् अनीकजित् ॥
आदित्यानां यथा विष्णुस् तथैव प्रतिभाति मे ॥
तेनेन्द्रसमवीर्येण संग्रामेष्व् अनिवर्तिना ॥
विनाभूता वने वीराः कथम् आसन् पितामहाः ॥
वैशंपायन उवाच
गते तु काम्यकात् तात पाण्डवे सव्यसाचिनि ॥
बभूवुः कौरवेयास् ते दुःखशोकपरायणाः ॥
आक्षिप्तसूत्रा मणयश् छिन्नपक्षा इव द्विजाः ॥
अप्रीतमनसः सर्वे बभूवुर् अथ पाण्डवाः ॥
वनं च तद् अभूत् तेन हीनम् अक्लिष्टकर्मणा ॥
कुबेरेण यथा हीनं वनं चैत्ररथं तथा ॥
तम् ऋते पुरुषव्याघ्रं पाण्डवा जनमेजय ॥
मुदम् अप्राप्नुवन्तो वै काम्यके न्यवसंस् तदा ॥
ब्राह्मणार्थे पराक्रान्ताः शुद्धैर् बाणैर् महारथाः ॥
निघ्नन्तो भरतश्रेष्ठ मेध्यान् बहुविधान् मृगान् ॥
नित्यं हि पुरुषव्याघ्रा वन्याहारम् अरिंदमाः ॥
विप्रसृत्य समाहृत्य ब्राह्मणेभ्यो न्यवेदयन् ॥
एवं ते न्यवसंस् तत्र सोत्कण्ठाः पुरुषर्षभाः ॥
अहृष्टमनसः सर्वे गते राजन् धनंजये ॥
janamejaya uvāca
bhagavan kāmyakāt pārthe gate me prapitāmahe ||
pāṇḍavāḥ kim akurvanta tam ṛte savyasācinam ||
sa hi teṣāṃ maheṣvāso gatir āsīd anīkajit ||
ādityānāṃ yathā viṣṇus tathaiva pratibhāti me ||
tenendrasamavīryeṇa saṃgrāmeṣv anivartinā ||
vinābhūtā vane vīrāḥ katham āsan pitāmahāḥ ||
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
gate tu kāmyakāt tāta pāṇḍave savyasācini ||
babhūvuḥ kauraveyās te duḥkhaśokaparāyaṇāḥ ||
ākṣiptasūtrā maṇayaś chinnapakṣā iva dvijāḥ ||
aprītamanasaḥ sarve babhūvur atha pāṇḍavāḥ ||
vanaṃ ca tad abhūt tena hīnam akliṣṭakarmaṇā ||
kubereṇa yathā hīnaṃ vanaṃ caitrarathaṃ tathā ||
tam ṛte puruṣavyāghraṃ pāṇḍavā janamejaya ||
mudam aprāpnuvanto vai kāmyake nyavasaṃs tadā ||
brāhmaṇārthe parākrāntāḥ śuddhair bāṇair mahārathāḥ ||
nighnanto bharataśreṣṭha medhyān bahuvidhān mṛgān ||
nityaṃ hi puruṣavyāghrā vanyāhāram ariṃdamāḥ ||
viprasṛtya samāhṛtya brāhmaṇebhyo nyavedayan ||
evaṃ te nyavasaṃs tatra sotkaṇṭhāḥ puruṣarṣabhāḥ ||
ahṛṣṭamanasaḥ sarve gate rājan dhanaṃjaye ||
Janamejaya said: 'Bhagavan, when Partha, my great-grandfather, left Kamyaka, what did the Pandavas do without Savyasachin? He was their great archer and refuge, the conqueror of armies; it seems to me he was among them as Vishnu among the Adityas. How did the heroes live in the forest without him, who was equal to Indra in strength and never retreated in battle?' Vaishampayana replied: 'When the Pandava Savyasachin left Kamyaka, the Kauravas sank into grief and sorrow. All the Pandavas became joyless, like pearls stripped of their string, like birds with severed wings. And the forest without the tireless Arjuna was like Chaitraratha without Kubera. Without this tiger among men they found no joy, and they lived in Kamyaka, gathering all manner of pure game for the brahmanas with their pure arrows. Every day these tigers among men gathered forest fare and offered it to the brahmanas. So they lived there in longing, joyless at heart, since Dhananjaya had gone.'
fdb4d70c73e6 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:01:59 PM UTC
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Arjuna is absent, yet his place is felt as the center around which the brothers' shared strength held together. Even the fulfillment of duty grows harder without a beloved brother.