Shloka 39

Devanagari script

पुत्रशोकसमाविष्टो नि:श्वसन्‌ होष भूमिप: । न शेते वसती: सर्वा धृतराष्ट्रो महामुने,“महामुने! ये भूमिपाल धृतराष्ट्र पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त हो सदा लम्बी साँस खींचते और आहें भरते रहते हैं। इन्हें रातभर कभी नींद नहीं आती

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

putraśokasamāviṣṭo niḥśvasan hoṣa bhūmipaḥ |

na śete vasatīḥ sarvā dhṛtarāṣṭro mahāmune ||

Translation

বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন— হে মহামুনি! পুত্রশোকে আচ্ছন্ন ধৃতরাষ্ট্র রাজা দীর্ঘশ্বাস ফেলে ক্রন্দন করতে থাকেন; সমগ্র রাত্রি তাঁর নিদ্রা আসে না।

Word by Word

पुत्रशोकसमाविष्टःovercome/possessed by grief for (his) sons

नि:श्वसन्sighing/breathing heavily

होषa groan/cry (of lamentation)

भूमिपःthe king

नnot

शेतेsleeps/lies down

वसतीःnights (lit. dwellings/abodes, i.e., night-rests)

सर्वाःall

धृतराष्ट्रःDhritarashtra

महामुनेO great sage

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the consuming power of attachment and bereavement: even a king cannot command peace of mind when grief dominates. It implicitly points toward the need for inner discipline and detachment (vairāgya) as a safeguard against being overwhelmed by loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s condition in the forest-life period: he is tormented by sorrow for his dead sons, continually sighing and lamenting, and he cannot sleep through the night.