Shloka 29
अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
पाण्डवाश्न महात्मानो द्रौपदी च यशस्विनी । कृतोपवासा: कौरव्य प्रययु: प्राडमुखास्तत:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pāṇḍavāś ca mahātmāno draupadī ca yaśasvinī | kṛtopavāsāḥ kauravya prayayuḥ prāṅmukhās tataḥ ||
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—তখন মহাত্মা পাণ্ডবগণ এবং যশস্বিনী দ্রৌপদীও উপবাস-ব্রত গ্রহণ করে পূর্বমুখে সেখান থেকে যাত্রা করলেন।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic renunciation: even those who have fulfilled worldly duties embrace self-restraint (upavāsa) and proceed with deliberate resolve. Austerity here functions as ethical purification and a conscious turning away from attachment at life’s end.
After arranging the kingdom’s succession, the Pāṇḍavas and Draupadī begin their Mahāprasthāna (great departure). They take up fasting as a vow and start walking eastward, marking the commencement of their final, ascetic journey.