Shloka 9
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
तथैव वृद्ध पितरं हतपुत्र॑ जनेश्वरम् । गान्धारी च महाभागां विदुरं च महामतिम्
tathaiva vṛddha-pitaraṁ hata-putraṁ janeśvaram | gāndhārīṁ ca mahābhāgāṁ viduraṁ ca mahāmatim ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “In the same way, he was continually preoccupied with the aged patriarch Dhṛtarāṣṭra—the lord of men whose sons had been slain—along with the noble Gāndhārī and the great-minded Vidura. Because of this constant concern for those bereft by the war, he found no peace: his mind did not settle in affairs of state, nor in pleasures, nor even in Vedic study.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the moral and emotional aftermath of violence persists beyond victory: compassion for the bereaved and the weight of responsibility can dissolve interest in power, pleasure, and even study, pushing one toward detachment and a search for peace aligned with dharma.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a character’s continuing anxiety and lack of rest due to concern for the aged Dhṛtarāṣṭra (bereft of sons), along with Gāndhārī and Vidura—figures deeply affected by the war—showing the unsettled state of mind in the war’s aftermath.