Shloka 13
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्षमायाचनं तथा युधिष्ठिरे न्यासदानम् / Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Request for Forgiveness and the Entrustment to Yudhiṣṭhira
या नापश्यंश्वन्द्रमसं न सूर्य रामा: कदाचिदपि तस्मिन् नरेन्द्रे । महावनं गच्छति कौरवेन्द्रे शोकेनार्ता राजमार्ग प्रपेदु:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yā nāpaśyaṁś candramasaṁ na sūryaṁ rāmāḥ kadācid api tasmin narendre |
mahāvanaṁ gacchati kauravendre śokenārtā rāja-mārgaṁ prapeduḥ ||
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—হে রাজন, যে অন্তঃপুরবাসিনী মহিলারা সেই নরেন্দ্র জীবিত থাকতে কখনও চাঁদ-সূর্য পর্যন্ত দেখেনি, কৌরবনাথ যখন মহাবনে যাত্রা করলেন, তখন তারাই শোকে ব্যাকুল হয়ে রাজপথে এসে পড়ল।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights impermanence and the vulnerability that follows the loss of royal protection: even those long sheltered by palace life are forced into public exposure by the turning of fate, and grief accompanies the transition from worldly power to forest renunciation.
As Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Kuru king, departs for the great forest, the secluded royal women—who had never even seen the sun or moon outside—come out onto the public road, distressed and sorrowful, marking the poignancy of the royal household’s withdrawal.