Shloka 10
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
एताश्चान्याश्व विविधा: शल्यभूता नराधिप:
etāś cānyāś ca vividhāḥ śalyabhūtā narādhipaḥ
Vaiśampāyana said: “And these, along with other varied afflictions, became like barbs lodged within the king—piercing and tormenting him from within.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the metaphor of a lodged barb (śalya) to show how unresolved sorrow, guilt, and painful memories can wound from within; ethical life requires acknowledging such inner suffering and seeking rightful means of purification, restraint, and reconciliation.
Vaiśampāyana continues describing the king’s condition: multiple, varied troubles and griefs are weighing on him, experienced as sharp inner pains—setting the emotional ground for the renunciatory movement of the Āśramavāsika narrative.