Shloka 163
धृतराष्ट्र-सत्कारः तथा श्राद्ध-दाने नियमनम् | Honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Regulating Śrāddha-Gifts
सदैव प्रीतिमत्यासीत् तनयेषु निजेष्विव । सुबलपुत्री गान्धारी भी अपने पुत्रोंका शोक छोड़कर पाण्डवोंपर सदा अपने सगे पुत्रोंके समान प्रेम करती थीं
sadaiva prītimatyāsīt tanayeṣu nijeṣv iva | subalaputrī gāndhārī bhī āpane putroṃkā śoka choṛakara pāṇḍavoṃpara sadā apane sage putroṃke samāna prema karatī thīṃ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Gandhārī, the daughter of Subala, having set aside the grief for her own sons, always showed affection toward the Pāṇḍavas as though they were her own children—an ethical turn from attachment and sorrow toward impartial, dharma-aligned goodwill.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical transformation: even after immense loss, one can move from personal grief and partiality to compassionate, dharma-oriented affection that treats others—formerly opposed—as one’s own.
In the Ashramavāsika context after the war, Vaiśampāyana describes Gandhārī’s changed disposition: she relinquishes exclusive mourning for her sons and consistently shows motherly love toward the Pāṇḍavas as if they were her own children.