Text 39] Questions by Vidura 39
yamav utasvit tanayau prthayah
parthair vrtau paksmabhir aksiniva
remata uddaya mrdhe sva-riktham
parat suparnav iva vajri-vaktrat

yamau—twins (Nakula and Sahadeva) utasvit— whether; tanayau—sons;
prthayah—of Prtha; parthaih-by the sons of Prtha; vrtau—protected;
paksmabhih—by shields; aksini—of the eyes; iva—like; remate—playing
carelessly; uddaya—snatching; mrdhe—in the fight; sva-riktham—own
property; parat—from the enemy Duryodhana; suparnau—Garuda, the
carrier of Lord Visnu; iva—like; vajri-vaktrat—from the mouth of Indra.

TRANSLATION

Are the twin brothers who are protected by their brothers doing well?
Just as the eye is always protected by the eyelid, they are protected by
the sons of Prtha, who snatched back their rightful kingdom from the
hands of their enemy Duryodhana, just as Garuda snatched nectar from
the mouth of Indra, the thunderbolt carrier. ‘

PURPORT

Indra, the King of heaven, carries a thunderbolt in his hand and is very
strong, yet Garuda, the carrier of Lord Vignu, was able to snatch nectar
from his mouth. Similarly, Duryodhana was as stong as the King of
heaven, and still the sons of Prtha, the Pandavas, were able to snatch away
their kingdom from Duryodhana. Both Garuda and the Parthas are pet
devotees of the Lord, and thus it was possible for them to face such
strong enemies.

Vidura’s inquiry was about the youngest brothers of the Pandavas,
namely Nakula and Sahadeva. These twin brothers were sons of Madri,
the stepmother of the other Pandavas. But although they were step-
brothers, because Kunti took charge of them after the departure of
Madri with her husband Maharaja Pandu, Nakula and Sahadeva were as
good as the other three Pandavas, Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna. The
five brothers are known in the world as regular brothers. The three elder
Pandavas took care of the younger brothers, just as the eyelid takes care
of the eye. Vidura was anxious to know whether, after winning back their
own kingdom from the hands of Duryodhana, the younger brothers were
still living happily under the care of the elder brothers.
