Shloka 1
अध्याय १५ (Āśramavāsika-parva): धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनवासानुज्ञायाचनम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s renewed plea for consent to forest-dwelling
अपर बक। ] अति: घोडशो&< ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्रका पुरवासियोंको लौटाना और पाण्डवोंके अनुरोध करनेपर भी कुन्तीका वनमें जानेसे न रुकना वैशम्पायन उवाच ततः प्रासादहर्म्येषु वसुधायां च पार्थिव । नारीणां च नराणां च नि:स्वन: सुमहानभूत्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--पृथ्वीनाथ! तदनन्तर महलों और अट्टालिकाओंमें तथा पृथ्वीपर भी रोते हुए नर-नारियोंका महान् कोलाहल छा गया
Vaiśampāyana uvāca |
Tataḥ prāsāda-harmyeṣu vasudhāyāṃ ca pārthiva |
Nārīṇāṃ ca narāṇāṃ ca niḥsvanaḥ sumahān abhūt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Then, O king, a very great outcry arose—of women and of men—through the palaces and lofty mansions, and even across the very ground itself.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of renunciation and the social cost of dharmic decisions: when elders choose the forest-life, the palace-world responds with collective grief, reminding rulers that personal vows and public emotion are intertwined.
In the wake of the decision for forest-dwelling (vanavāsa/āśrama-vāsa) by the royal elders, a loud lamentation spreads throughout the royal residences and among the people—women and men alike—signaling widespread sorrow at the impending departure.