Shloka 296
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
परित्यज्य गता: शूरा: प्रेतराजनिवेशनम् । वे सब शूरवीर भूपाल अपने पिताओं, पत्नियों, प्राणों और मनको प्रिय लगनेवाले भोगोंका परित्याग करके यमलोकको चले गये
parityajya gatāḥ śūrāḥ pretarājaniveśanam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Having renounced all that bound them to worldly life, the heroic men departed for the abode of the Lord of the departed, Yama. Those warrior-kings, giving up attachment to fathers, wives, their very lives, and pleasures dear to the mind, went on to Yama’s realm.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the ethical necessity of detachment: even the brave and powerful must relinquish attachments—relationships, pleasures, and life itself—and face the ordained passage to Yama’s domain, reminding the listener to live with dharma rather than clinging.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the heroic men (warrior-kings) depart for Pretarāja’s abode—Yama’s realm—signifying their death and transition beyond the human world after abandoning worldly ties and enjoyments.