ब्राह्मणस्य वचः श्रुत्वा संतप्तो ऽथ युधिष्ठिरः ॥
धनुर् आदाय कौन्तेयः प्राद्रवद् भ्रातृभिः सह ॥
सन्नद्धा धन्विनः सर्वे प्राद्रवन् नरपुंगवाः ॥
ब्राह्मणार्थे यतन्तस् ते शीघ्रम् अन्वगमन् मृगम् ॥
कर्णिनालीकनाराचान् उत्सृजन्तो महारथाः ॥
नाविध्यन् पाण्डवास् तत्र पश्यन्तो मृगम् अन्तिकात् ॥
तेषां प्रयतमानानां नादृश्यत महामृगः ॥
अपश्यन्तो मृगं श्रान्ता दुःखं प्राप्ता मनस्विनः ॥
शीतलच्छायम् आसाद्य न्यग्रोधं गहने वने ॥
क्षुत्पिपासापरीताङ्गाः पाण्डवाः समुपाविशन् ॥
तेषां समुपविष्टानां नकुलो दुःखितस् तदा ॥
अब्रवीद् भ्रातरं ज्येष्ठम् अमर्षात् कुरुसत्तम ॥
नास्मिन् कुले जातु ममज्ज धर्मो; न चालस्याद् अर्थलोपो बभूव ॥
अनुत्तराः सर्वभूतेषु भूयः; संप्राप्ताः स्मः संशयं केन राजन् ॥
brāhmaṇasya vacaḥ śrutvā saṃtapto 'tha yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
dhanur ādāya kaunteyaḥ prādravad bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ||
sannaddhā dhanvinaḥ sarve prādravan narapuṃgavāḥ ||
brāhmaṇārthe yatantas te śīghram anvagaman mṛgam ||
karṇinālīkanārācān utsṛjanto mahārathāḥ ||
nāvidhyan pāṇḍavās tatra paśyanto mṛgam antikāt ||
teṣāṃ prayatamānānāṃ nādṛśyata mahāmṛgaḥ ||
apaśyanto mṛgaṃ śrāntā duḥkhaṃ prāptā manasvinaḥ ||
śītalacchāyam āsādya nyagrodhaṃ gahane vane ||
kṣutpipāsāparītāṅgāḥ pāṇḍavāḥ samupāviśan ||
teṣāṃ samupaviṣṭānāṃ nakulo duḥkhitas tadā ||
abravīd bhrātaraṃ jyeṣṭham amarṣāt kurusattama ||
nāsmin kule jātu mamajja dharmo; na cālasyād arthalopo babhūva ||
anuttarāḥ sarvabhūteṣu bhūyaḥ; saṃprāptāḥ smaḥ saṃśayaṃ kena rājan ||
Yudhishthira, hearing the brahmin's words, took up his bow and ran off with his brothers. All the armed heroes, for the brahmin's sake, swiftly pursued the deer, loosing various arrows as they saw it close by, yet did not strike it. While they strove, the great deer vanished. Not seeing it, the weary and suffering Pandavas sat down in the deep forest beneath the cool shade of a banyan, overcome by hunger and thirst. Then the grieved Nakula said to his eldest brother with indignation: "In our lineage dharma has never sunk, nor has any purpose ever been lost through sloth. We are still the foremost among all beings — yet through what cause, O king, have we fallen into doubt?"
a5076cb8f282 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:37:35 PM UTC
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The vanished deer leads the Pandavas to the forest's final trial. Nakula senses something amiss: a righteous deed ought to succeed, but dharma is now testing not the strength of their arrows but their humility.