Shloka 29
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
ये ते पितृश्च दारांश्व प्राणांक्ष मनसः प्रियान्,इति श्रीमहाभारते आश्रमवासिके पर्वणि पुत्रदर्शनपर्वणि धृतराष्ट्रादिकृतप्रार्थने एकोनत्रिंशो5ध्याय:
ye te pitṝś ca dārāṁś ca prāṇāṁś ca manasaḥ priyān
Vaiśampāyana said: “Those fathers of yours, and those wives, and even your very lives—indeed, all that is dear to your heart…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds attachment and love—parents/ancestors, spouses, and even one’s very life—as the strongest bonds of the heart. In the Ashramavāsika context, it implicitly contrasts these powerful ties with the ascetic movement toward detachment, showing how prayer and remembrance arise from deep human bonds even amid renunciation.
Vaiśampāyana is introducing a statement that lists those most dear to the addressed person(s)—fathers/ancestors, wives, and life-breath itself—preparing the ground for a supplicatory or prayerful passage connected with Dhṛtarāṣṭra and others in the Putradarśana (vision of sons) episode.