Shloka 46
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
तस्य भार्याशतमिदं दुःखशोकसमाहतम् । पुन: पुनर्वर्धयानं शोकं राज्ञो ममैव च
tasya bhāryāśatam idaṃ duḥkhaśokasamāhatam | punaḥ punar vardhayānaṃ śokaṃ rājño mamaiva ca
Vaiśampāyana said: “This multitude of his wives, struck down by grief and sorrow, kept again and again increasing the lamentation—both of the king and of me as well.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how collective mourning multiplies suffering: grief is contagious and amplifies when shared in a distressed community, reminding the listener of the fragility of worldly ties and the need for steadiness and compassion in the face of loss.
Vaiśampāyana describes a scene where the king is surrounded by his many wives, all overwhelmed by sorrow; their repeated lamentations intensify the king’s own grief, and even the narrator is affected by the atmosphere of mourning.