Shloka 27
अध्याय १५ (Āśramavāsika-parva): धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनवासानुज्ञायाचनम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s renewed plea for consent to forest-dwelling
वनाच्चापि किमानीता भवत्या बालका वयम् | दुःखशोकसमाविष्टौ माद्रीपुत्राविमौ तथा,“जब आपको वनमें ही जाना था, तब आप हमको और दु:ख-शोकमें डूबे हुए उन माद्रीकुमारोंको बाल्यावस्थामें वनसे नगरमें क्यों ले आयीं?
vanāc cāpi kim ānītā bhavatyā bālakā vayam | duḥkha-śoka-samāviṣṭau mādrī-putrāv imau tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “If you were destined to go to the forest after all, why did you bring us—still mere children—from the forest to the city? And why did you likewise bring these two sons of Mādrī, overwhelmed by grief and sorrow?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between worldly responsibility and renunciation: if one intends to withdraw to the forest, one should consider the consequences for dependents—especially children and the grief-stricken—before uprooting them from one life to another.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker questions a woman’s decision: since she ultimately chose the forest-life, why did she earlier bring the children (including Mādrī’s two sons) from the forest into the city during their vulnerable, sorrow-filled youth.