Shloka 306
Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)
सन्निरुध्येन्द्रियग्राममासीत् काष्ठोपमस्तदा । महर्षि व्यासके पुत्र मनीषी राजा धृतराष्ट्रने संजयकी वह बात मान ली। वे इन्द्रियसमुदायको रोककर काष्ठकी भाँति निश्वेष्ट हो गये
sannirudhyendriyagrāmam āsīt kāṣṭhopamas tadā | maharṣi-vyāsake putra manīṣī rājā dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ ||
Nārada said: “Then, having restrained the entire host of his senses, the wise King Dhṛtarāṣṭra became motionless—like a piece of wood. Thus he accepted Sañjaya’s counsel and entered disciplined self-control.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights indriya-nigraha (restraint of the senses) as a practical foundation for renunciation: ethical clarity and inner freedom arise when one withdraws from compulsive sense-driven activity and becomes steady, undistracted, and self-possessed.
In the Āśramavāsika context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, guided by Sañjaya and described by Nārada to Śuka, adopts austere discipline in the forest. He restrains his senses and sits utterly still, signaling a decisive turn from royal life and grief toward ascetic withdrawal.