Shloka 12
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
तेषु तत्रोपविष्टेषु स तु राजा महामति: । पाण्डुपुत्रै: परिवृतो निषसाद कुरूद्गह,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! उन सबके बैठ जानेपर पाण्डवोंसे घिरे हुए परम बुद्धिमान् राजा धुृतराष्ट्र बैठे
teṣu tatropaviṣṭeṣu sa tu rājā mahāmatiḥ | pāṇḍuputraiḥ parivṛto niṣasāda kurūdgaḥ, kuruśreṣṭha |
When all of them had taken their seats there, the highly wise King Dhṛtarāṣṭra—surrounded by the sons of Pāṇḍu—sat down, O best of the Kurus.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after grave conflict, dharma can express itself through respectful conduct toward elders and through reconciliation. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s being attended by the Pāṇḍavas highlights moral maturity: those wronged uphold propriety, while the elder king confronts the outcomes of his earlier attachments.
After the group has sat down, Dhṛtarāṣṭra—described as very wise—is shown taking his seat, surrounded/attended by the Pāṇḍavas. The narrator addresses the listener as ‘best of the Kurus,’ marking a formal, courtly narration of a calm, transitional moment in the forest-dwelling (āśrama) phase.