Shloka 17

धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure for Forest Life

Devanagari script

अग्रपादस्थितं चेम॑ विद्धि राजन्‌ वधूजनम्‌ । काडुशक्षन्तं दर्शन कुन्त्या गान्धार्या: श्वशुरस्य च,“राजन! आपको विदित हो कि अन्तःपुरकी सभी बहुएँ वनमें जानेके लिये पैर आगे बढ़ाये खड़ी हैं। वे सब-की-सब कुन्ती, गान्धारी तथा ससुरजीके दर्शन करना चाहती हैं

Transliteration

agrāpādasthitaṃ cema viddhi rājan vadhūjanam | kāṅkṣantaṃ darśanaṃ kuntyā gāndhāryāḥ śvaśurasya ca |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Wisse auch dies, o König: Die Frauen der inneren Gemächer—unsere Schwiegertöchter—stehen bereit, den Fuß schon vorgestreckt, um in den Wald aufzubrechen. Sie alle verlangen danach, Kuntī, Gāndhārī und ihren ehrwürdigen Schwiegervater zu erblicken.“

Word by Word

अग्रपादस्थितम्standing with feet advanced (ready to go)

चand

इमम्this

विद्धिknow (you)! / understand!

राजन्O king

वधूजनम्the group of daughters-in-law

कान्तुंto desire / to wish

दर्शनम्seeing; audience; दर्शन

कुन्त्याःof Kunti

गान्धार्याःof Gandhari

श्वशुरस्यof the father-in-law

चand

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

King Janamejaya

vadhūjana (the daughters-in-law of the Kuru household)

Kuntī

Gāndhārī

śvaśura (the father-in-law; Dhṛtarāṣṭra implied)

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 within the family: even amid loss and transition, the household women uphold respect and relational duty by seeking auspicious audience (darśana) of elders before a major renunciatory departure.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports to the king that the palace daughters-in-law are ready to go to the forest and wish to see Kuntī, Gāndhārī, and their father-in-law (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra), indicating a collective movement toward the elders’ forest life.