Shloka 4
Nārada’s Exempla of Tapas and Assurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra (नारदोपदेशः—तपःसिद्ध्युदाहरणम्)
यदाहारो5भवद् राजा धृतराष्ट्री महामना: । तदाहारा नृवीरास्ते न्यवसंस्तां निशां तदा,महामनस्वी राजा धृतराष्ट्रने जिस वस्तुका आहार किया था, उसी वस्तुका आहार उस रातमें उन नरवीर पाण्डवोंने भी किया था
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yad āhāro 'bhavad rājā dhṛtarāṣṭrī mahāmanāḥ |
tadāhārā nṛvīrās te nyavasan tāṃ niśāṃ tadā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Whatever food the noble-minded King Dhṛtarāṣṭra had taken, the heroic Pāṇḍavas too lived that night on the very same fare—sharing his austere sustenance in solidarity and restraint.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical solidarity and humility: the Pāṇḍavas do not seek special treatment but accept the same austere food as the aged Dhṛtarāṣṭra, embodying restraint and reconciliation after conflict.
During the forest-dwelling phase of the elders, Dhṛtarāṣṭra takes a certain simple meal; the Pāṇḍavas, present with him, spend that night subsisting on exactly the same food.