Shloka 16
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
वैराट्यास्तनयं दृष्टवा पितरं ते परीक्षितम् | धारयन्ति सम ते प्राणांस्तव पूर्वपितामहा:
vairāṭyāḥ tanayaṃ dṛṣṭvā pitaraṃ te parīkṣitam | dhārayanti sma te prāṇāṃs tava pūrva-pitāmahāḥ, janamejaya ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, in those days your forefathers—the Pāṇḍavas—could scarcely sustain their very lives; it was only by seeing the son of Uttarā of the Virāṭa line, your father Parīkṣit, that they kept their breath within them.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic importance of lineage and responsibility: even amid loss and withdrawal, the continuation of a righteous line (through Parīkṣit) becomes a moral anchor that restores purpose and the will to live.
Vaiśampāyana tells King Janamejaya that the Pāṇḍavas, overwhelmed by their circumstances, found the strength to endure only by seeing Parīkṣit—Uttarā’s son—whose survival ensured the continuation of their family and kingdom.