Shloka 26

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

तृष्णाविनयनं भुज्जे गान्धारी वेद तन्‍्मम । करोत्याहारमिति मां सर्व: परिजन: सदा,कभी चौथे समय (अर्थात्‌ दो दिनपर) और कभी आठवें समय अर्थात्‌ चार दिनपर केवल भूखकी आग बुझानेके लिये मैं थोड़ा-सा आहार करता हूँ। मेरे इस नियमको केवल गान्धारी देवी जानती हैं। अन्य सब लोगोंको यही मालूम है कि मैं प्रतिदिन पूरा भोजन करता हूँ

Transliteration

tṛṣṇāvinayanaṃ bhuñje gāndhārī veda tan mama | karoty āhāram iti māṃ sarvaḥ parijanaḥ sadā | kadācid caturthe samaye (arthāt dvidinapare) kadācid aṣṭame samaye (arthāt caturdinapare) kevalaṃ bubhukṣāgniṃ śamayituṃ mayā kiñcid āhāraḥ kriyate | mama etad niyamaṃ kevalā gāndhārī devī jānāti | anye sarve janāḥ etad eva manyante yat ahaṃ pratidinaṃ pūrṇaṃ bhojanaṃ karomi |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Um das Begehren zu bezwingen, esse ich nur spärlich; das weiß allein Gāndhārī. Alle Diener meinen stets, ich nähme jeden Tag volle Nahrung zu mir. Mitunter nehme ich ein wenig nur in der vierten Wache — das heißt nach zwei Tagen —, und mitunter nur in der achten — das heißt nach vier Tagen —, bloß um das Feuer des Hungers zu löschen.“

Word by Word

• {'tṛṣṇā': 'craving, thirst (desire)', 'vinayana': 'subduing, restraint, pacification', 'bhuñje': 'I eat, I partake (1st person singular)', 'gāndhārī': 'Gāndhārī (queen, wife of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'veda': 'knows', 'tan mama': 'that of mine / that (practice) of mine', 'āhāra': 'food, intake', 'parijana': 'attendants, household members, retinue', 'sadā': 'always', 'kadācid': 'sometimes', 'caturtha samaya': 'the fourth time/watch (here explained as after two days)', 'aṣṭama samaya': 'the eighth time/watch (here explained as after four days)', 'kevalam': 'only, merely', 'bubhukṣā': 'hunger', 'agni': 'fire', 'śamayitum': 'to extinguish, to calm', 'kiñcit': 'a little', 'niyama': 'rule, observance, vow', 'pratidinam': 'every day', 'pūrṇa bhojana': 'full meal'}

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Gāndhārī
• parijana (attendants/retinue)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined restraint over desire: food is taken not for indulgence but only to sustain life and quiet hunger. It presents ascetic self-control (niyama) as a means to reduce tṛṣṇā (craving), emphasizing inner governance over bodily impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes his secret austerity in the forest life: he eats only at long intervals and in very small quantity. Only Gāndhārī knows this; the attendants mistakenly believe he eats normally every day, showing both the hidden nature of his vow and the couple’s shared renunciant discipline.