Shloka 8

अध्याय १५ (Āśramavāsika-parva): धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनवासानुज्ञायाचनम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s renewed plea for consent to forest-dwelling

Devanagari script

वधूपरिवृता राज्ञि नगरं गन्तुमर्हसि । राजा यात्वेष धर्मात्मा तापस्ये कृतनिश्चय:

Transliteration

vadhūparivṛtā rājñi nagaraṃ gantum arhasi | rājā yātveṣa dharmātmā tāpasye kṛtaniścayaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Königin, kehre mit deinen Schwiegertöchtern in die Stadt zurück. Was aber den König betrifft—diesen Mann von rechtschaffener Seele—so hat er beschlossen aufzubrechen und das Leben eines Asketen, eines Tapasvin, zu ergreifen.“

Word by Word

वधूby/with the bride (daughter-in-law)

परिवृताsurrounded/attended (by)

राज्ञिO queen

नगरम्to the city

गन्तुम्to go

अर्हसिyou ought/are fit

राजाthe king

यातुlet (him) go

एषःthis (man)

धर्मात्माrighteous-souled

तपस्येin austerity/penance

कृतनिश्चयःhaving made a firm resolve

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

the queen (rājñī)

the king (rājā)

daughters-in-law (vadhū)

the city (nagara)

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 dharma as role-appropriate conduct: the queen is advised to return to civic life with the household women, while the king, having formed a firm resolve, embraces tapas (ascetic discipline). It frames renunciation not as impulse but as a deliberate, ethically grounded decision.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports an instruction to the queen: she should go back to the city accompanied by the daughters-in-law, whereas the king—described as dharmātmā—intends to depart for an ascetic mode of life, indicating a decisive shift from royal household life toward forest austerity.