Shloka 1
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
अपन ह< बक। है २ >> एकविशो< ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्र आदिके लिये पाण्डवों तथा पुरवासियोंकी चिन्ता वैशम्पायन उवाच वनं॑ गते कौरवेन्द्रे द:ःखशोकसमन्विता: । बभूवु: पाण्डवा राजन् मातृशोकेन चान्विता:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vanam gate kauravendre duḥkhaśokasamanvitāḥ |
babhūvuḥ pāṇḍavā rājan mātṛśokena cānvitāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O King (Janamejaya), when the lord of the Kurus (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) had gone to the forest, the Pāṇḍavas became overwhelmed with sorrow and grief. They were also consumed by the anguish of mourning their mother, a pain that continued to burn within them.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of familial bonds and the cost of dharma after conflict: even rightful victory does not erase grief. It also frames the forest-life (vanaprastha/retirement) of elders as a dharmic transition that deeply affects those who remain, reminding rulers that governance includes bearing personal loss with steadiness.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Kuru elder, has departed for the forest. In response, the Pāṇḍavas are plunged into sorrow—intensified by the recent loss of their mother—setting the emotional and moral atmosphere for the ensuing events of the Āśramavāsika narrative.