Shloka 17

अर्जुन–युधिष्ठिर–विदुर संवादः

Arjuna and Yudhiṣṭhira instruct Vidura on honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Devanagari script

त्वगस्थिभूत: परिशुष्कमांसो जटाजिनी वल्कलसंवृताडु: । स पार्थिवस्तत्र तपश्चचार महर्षिवत्तीव्रमपेतमोह:,राजा धृतराष्ट्रके शरीरका मांस सूख गया। वे अस्थिचर्मावशिष्ट होकर मस्तकपर जटा और शरीरपर मृगछाला एवं वल्कल धारण किये महर्षियोंकी भाँति तीव्र तपस्यामें प्रवृत्त हो गये। उनके चित्तका सम्पूर्ण मोह दूर हो गया था

Transliteration

tvag-asthi-bhūtaḥ pariśuṣka-māṁso jaṭājinī valkala-saṁvṛtāṅgaḥ | sa pārthivas tatra tapaś cacāra maharṣi-vat tīvrām apeta-mohaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Das Fleisch König Dhṛtarāṣṭras war vertrocknet; er war kaum mehr als Haut und Knochen. Mit verfilzten jaṭā‑Locken auf dem Haupt und den Leib in Hirschfell und Rindenkleider gehüllt, übte jener Herrscher dort strenge Askese wie ein großer Weiser — und jede Verblendung seines Geistes war gänzlich gewichen.

Word by Word

• {'tvak': 'skin', 'asthi': 'bone', 'bhūtaḥ': 'become

• having become', 'pariśuṣka': 'completely dried up, emaciated', 'māṁsa': 'flesh', 'jaṭā': 'matted hair, ascetic locks', 'ajinī (ajina)': 'deerskin garment', 'valkala': 'bark-cloth, garment made of tree-bark', 'saṁvṛta-aṅgaḥ': 'with limbs/body covered', 'pārthivaḥ': 'king, ruler', 'tatra': 'there (in that place/forest hermitage setting)', 'tapas': 'austerity, ascetic discipline', 'cacāra': 'practised, undertook, engaged in', 'maharṣi-vat': 'like a great seer', 'tīvrām': 'intense, severe', 'apeta-mohaḥ': 'one whose delusion has departed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• king (pārthiva)
• jaṭā (matted locks)
• ajina (deerskin)
• valkala (bark-garment)
• tapas (austerity)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic pivot from worldly identity to disciplined renunciation: when attachment and भ्रम (moha) fall away, even a king can adopt the life of a sage, using austerity as a means of purification and inner clarity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, now living away from the court, has become emaciated and adopts ascetic markers—matted hair, deerskin, and bark-cloth—while practising severe tapas in the forest, described as being free from delusion.