Reflect.

 Reflect.

In the Kamyaka forest. The five brothers and Draupadī sit in silence. The fire crackles. The pain of exile hangs heavy.

YUDHIṢṬHIRA (quietly, to himself):

"I played with dice, knowing it was ruinous.

Blinded by pride, I staked all—myself, my brothers, and her.

What have I done? Righteousness has bound me like a deer caught in a snare."

Vana Parva, Adhyaya 30

DRAUPADĪ (rising, voice trembling):

"O King, you are learned in Dharma, yet you let adharma pass unchallenged.

Am I but a possession, a stake upon the board?

Where was Dharma when the wicked laughed and I stood shamed?

If silence is virtue, then I curse such virtue!"*

Vana Parva, Adhyaya 28

ARJUNA (fist clenched):

"My Gandiva wept in silence that day.

I could have burned that hall with my wrath,

But I was bound by your command, my elder's word.

Now I ask myself—was silence my sin?"*

 Vana Parva, Adhyaya 31

BHĪMA (striking his thigh):

 "Had you permitted, I would have crushed Duryodhana's skull on the palace floor!

My arms were eager, my heart ablaze—yet I stood restrained.

You let Dharma guide you, brother,

But what Dharma lets evil thrive and virtue starve?"*

 Vana Parva, Adhyaya 29

YUDHIṢṬHIRA( sorrowful)

"I do not know what is Dharma anymore.

That which I thought was virtue led us here.

I did not speak, nor strike, nor rage.

I bore it all—for peace, for elders, for truth."

 Vana Parva, Adhyaya 33

DRAUPADĪ (tears streaming):

"Peace built on injustice is poison.

You call it Dharma, but it left me naked in that court.

Even the gods must weep at such restraint!"

Vana Parva, Adhyaya 28

ARJUNA (softly):

"Perhaps we must rise beyond mere Dharma,

And see that justice too has its bow.

I vow—when time comes, my Gandiva shall not rest."

Vana Parva, Adhyaya 31

BHĪMA (thundering):

"I have counted the bones in Duryodhana’s thigh.

I shall crush them. This I swear by my strength and sorrow!"

Vana Parva, Adhyaya 29

YUDHIṢṬHIRA (closing his eyes):

"Perhaps this exile is a fire to burn away illusion.

Dharma is subtle—perhaps beyond reason.

Let time be the judge of our choices.

Until then—we walk this forest path with heads held high."

Vana Parva, Adhyaya 34

[The fire crackles. They sit together—wounded, but united. The silence of the forest holds their vows.]

The verses reflect chapters: Adhyayas 28–34 in the Vana Parva.

Dharma vs. Kshatra, fate vs. free will, restraint vs. justice, shame, vow, and hope.