Shloka 13
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्षमायाचनं तथा युधिष्ठिरे न्यासदानम् / Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Request for Forgiveness and the Entrustment to Yudhiṣṭhira
या नापश्यंश्वन्द्रमसं न सूर्य रामा: कदाचिदपि तस्मिन् नरेन्द्रे । महावनं गच्छति कौरवेन्द्रे शोकेनार्ता राजमार्ग प्रपेदु:,रनिवासकी जिन रमणियोंने कभी बाहर आकर सूर्य और चन्द्रमाको भी नहीं देखा था, वे ही कौरवराज धृतराष्ट्रके महावनके लिये प्रस्थान करते समय शोकसे व्याकुल होकर खुली सड़कपर आ गयी थीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yā nāpaśyaṁś candramasaṁ na sūryaṁ rāmāḥ kadācid api tasmin narendre |
mahāvanaṁ gacchati kauravendre śokenārtā rāja-mārgaṁ prapeduḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Those noble ladies who had never at any time seen the moon or the sun—so secluded had they been while that king lived—when the Kuru lord set out for the great forest, came out onto the public road, overwhelmed by grief.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights impermanence and the vulnerability that follows the loss of royal protection: even those long sheltered by palace life are forced into public exposure by the turning of fate, and grief accompanies the transition from worldly power to forest renunciation.
As Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Kuru king, departs for the great forest, the secluded royal women—who had never even seen the sun or moon outside—come out onto the public road, distressed and sorrowful, marking the poignancy of the royal household’s withdrawal.