Ashramavasika Parva Adhyaya 17 Shloka 15 - Mahabharata | English | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 15

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Śrāddha Request and Bhīma’s Objection (Āśramavāsika-parva, Adhyāya 17)

Devanagari script

सर्वे चासन्‌ निरुत्साहा: पाण्डवा जातमन्यव: । कुन्त्या हीना: सुदुःखार्ता वत्सा इव विनाकृता:

Transliteration

sarve cāsan nirutsāhāḥ pāṇḍavā jātamanyavaḥ | kuntyā hīnāḥ suduḥkhārtā vatsā iva vinākṛtāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: All the Pāṇḍavas became devoid of spirit, their anger newly kindled. Separated from Kuntī, they were overwhelmed by intense sorrow—restless like calves bereft of their mother-cow.

Word by Word

सर्वेall

चand

आसन्were

निरुत्साहाःwithout enthusiasm, dispirited

पाण्डवाःthe Pandavas

जातमन्यवःwhose anger had arisen (angered)

कुन्त्याby/with Kunti

हीनाःdeprived (of), bereft

सुदुःखार्ताःgreatly afflicted by sorrow

वत्साःcalves

इवlike, as if

विनाwithout

कृताःmade, rendered

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍavas

Kuntī

calves (vatsāḥ)

cow (implied by the simile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and psychological role of elders: when a moral anchor like Kuntī is lost, even dharma-trained heroes can become dispirited, grief-stricken, and prone to fresh anger. It points to the need for steadiness (dhairya) and mutual support in bereavement.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the Pāṇḍavas’ emotional collapse after being separated from Kuntī. They lose their former resolve, become intensely sorrowful, and are compared to calves anxiously searching for their mother.