Shloka 2
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पश्चात्तापः तथा वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse and Request for Forest-Retirement
मन्दप्राणगतिर्धीमान् कृच्छादिव समुद्रहन् । पदाति: स महीपालो जीर्णो गजपतिर्यथा
mandaprāṇagatir dhīmān kṛcchād iva samudvahan | padātiḥ sa mahīpālo jīrṇo gajapatir yathā ||
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—প্রাজ্ঞ রাজা, যার প্রাণশক্তির গতি মন্দ হয়ে গিয়েছিল, কষ্টে কষ্টে অগ্রসর হলেন। সেই ভূ-পতি তখন পদব্রজে, জীর্ণ গজপতির ন্যায়, পা তুলতেও দুরূহ বোধ করতেন।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical and spiritual reminder central to the Mahābhārata: worldly authority and strength are transient. Old age reduces even a king to frailty, encouraging humility, acceptance of consequences, and a turn toward detachment and renunciatory values.
The narrator describes the king’s physical decline: his breath and strength are weak, and he walks with great effort, compared to an old elephant leader. It sets the tone for the forest-dwelling, end-of-life phase characteristic of the Āśramavāsika narrative.