Shloka 40
Vidura Leaves Hastināpura and Meets Uddhava
Vidura’s Tīrtha-yātrā Begins
अहो पृथापि ध्रियतेऽर्भकार्थे राजर्षिवर्येण विनापि तेन । यस्त्वेकवीरोऽधिरथो विजिग्ये धनुर्द्वितीय: ककुभश्चतस्र: ॥ ४० ॥
aho pṛthāpi dhriyate ’rbhakārthe rājarṣi-varyeṇa vināpi tena yas tv eka-vīro ’dhiratho vijigye dhanur dvitīyaḥ kakubhaś catasraḥ
O my lord, does Pṛthā (Kuntī) still live? She endures only for the sake of her fatherless children; otherwise she could not have lived without King Pāṇḍu, the foremost royal sage—an unrivaled hero and commander who, with only a second bow as his aid, conquered the four directions.
A faithful wife cannot live without her lord, the husband, and therefore all widows used to voluntarily embrace the burning fire which consumed the dead husband. This system was very common in India because all the wives were chaste and faithful to their husbands. Later on, with the advent of the Age of Kali, the wives gradually began to be less adherent to their husbands, and the voluntary embrace of the fire by the widows became a thing of the past. Very recently the system was abolished, since the voluntary system had become a forcible social custom.
FAQs
This verse highlights that Kuntī continued living and bearing hardship for the sake of her children, showing steadfast duty and strength amid loss.
Vidura recalls Pāṇḍu’s extraordinary heroism to emphasize the magnitude of Kuntī’s loss and to frame his inquiry into the fortunes of the Pāṇḍavas after such a protector was gone.
It teaches resilience and responsibility: endure personal sorrow without abandoning one’s dependents and obligations, while remembering that worldly strength is temporary.