Shloka 2
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
तथा पौरजन: सर्व: शोचन्नास्ते जनाधिपम् । कुर्वाणाश्व कथास्तत्र ब्राह्मणा नृपतिं प्रति
tathā paurajanaḥ sarvaḥ śocann āste janādhipam | kurvāṇāś ca kathās tatra brāhmaṇā nṛpatiṃ prati ||
In the same way, all the townspeople remained steeped in grief for their lord, the king. There, the brāhmaṇas too continually spoke among themselves about that aged ruler—keeping his condition and fate at the center of their discourse.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights social and ethical responsibility toward a ruler in distress: collective grief and thoughtful discourse by elders (brāhmaṇas) reflect a community’s duty to remember, evaluate, and respond to the moral consequences surrounding kingship and its decline.
After the great events leading into the Āśramavāsika context, the citizens remain sorrowful for their king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), while the brāhmaṇas in that place repeatedly discuss him—indicating widespread concern for the aged monarch’s situation.