Shloka 16
आदि पर्व (अध्याय १२७) — रङ्गे कर्णस्य अवमानः, दुर्योधनस्य प्रतिपक्ष-निवृत्तिः, मैत्री-स्थापनम् / Ādi Parva (Chapter 127) — Karṇa’s Public Humiliation, Duryodhana’s Intervention, and the Formation of Alliance
क्रोशन्त: पाण्डवा: सर्वे भीष्मो विदुर एव च | रमणीये वनोद्देशे गज़ातीरे समे शुभे,समस्त पाण्डव, भीष्म तथा विदुरजी क्रन्दन करते हुए जा रहे थे। वनके रमणीय प्रदेशमें गंगाजीके शुभ एवं समतल तटपर उन लोगोंने, अनायास ही महान् पराक्रम करनेवाले सत्यवादी नरश्रेष्ठ पाण्डु और उनकी पत्नी माद्रीकी उस शिबिकाको रखा
krośantaḥ pāṇḍavāḥ sarve bhīṣmo vidura eva ca | ramaṇīye vanoddeśe gaṅgātīre same śubhe |
Vaiśampāyana said: All the Pāṇḍavas—together with Bhīṣma and Vidura—went on, crying aloud in grief. Reaching a beautiful tract of forest on the auspicious, level bank of the Gaṅgā, they set down there the bier bearing the truthful, heroic, best of men, Pāṇḍu, along with his wife Mādrī, fulfilling the solemn duty owed to the dead.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma in the face of loss: even amid intense grief, the elders and the Pāṇḍavas proceed with the solemn responsibilities owed to the deceased. It also underscores the ethical ideal of satya (truthfulness) by remembering Pāṇḍu as a satyavādin and naraśreṣṭha, suggesting that virtue remains the measure of a life even at death.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the Pāṇḍavas, accompanied by Bhīṣma and Vidura, are wailing as they travel. They reach a beautiful forest area on the level, auspicious bank of the Gaṅgā and set down the bier/palanquin carrying the bodies of King Pāṇḍu and his wife Mādrī, preparing for the next rites and decisions after the tragedy.