Shloka 16
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Public Request for Consent to Enter the Forest (अनुज्ञा-प्रार्थना)
महाराज! इस प्रकार उन्होंने पुत्रों, पौत्रों और पितरोंका तथा अपना एवं गान्धारीका भी श्राद्ध किया ।। परिश्रान्तो यदासीत् स ददद् दानान्यनेकश: । निवर्तयामास तदा दानयज्ञं नराधिप:
mahārāja! evaṁ te putra-pautra-pitṝṇāṁ tathā ātmanaḥ gāndhāryāś ca śrāddhaṁ cakruḥ. pariśrānto yadā āsīt sa dadad dānāny anekaśaḥ; nivartayāmāsa tadā dāna-yajñaṁ narādhipaḥ.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, in this manner they performed the śrāddha rites for their sons, grandsons, and ancestors, and also for themselves and for Gāndhārī. When the ruler became weary, though he had been giving many gifts repeatedly, he then brought that sacrificial distribution of charity to a close.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharma expressed through śrāddha and dāna: honoring the dead and ancestors through prescribed rites, and supporting society through generous giving. It also implies a measured completion of ritual action—charity is virtuous, yet even meritorious acts have a proper time and limit when the performer is exhausted.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the royal party performs śrāddha rites for their descendants and forefathers, and also for themselves and for Gāndhārī. The king, having repeatedly distributed many gifts as part of a dāna-yajña, becomes fatigued and therefore concludes the charitable rite.