Shloka 22
कुन्ती–व्याससंवादः
Kuntī–Vyāsa Dialogue on Durvāsā’s Boon and Karṇa’s Birth
ते चापि राजवचनात् पुरुषा ये गताभवन् | संकल्प्य तेषां कुल्यानि पुन: प्रत्यागमंस्ततः
te cāpi rājavacanāt puruṣā ye gatābhavan | saṅkalpya teṣāṃ kulyāni punaḥ pratyāgamaṃs tataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Those men too, who had gone at the king’s command, gathered together the bone-remains of the departed and then returned from there. In keeping with proper rites, they honored them with garlands of various kinds and with sandalwood, and after worshipping, consigned them to the Gaṅgā. Thereafter they came back to Hastināpura and reported the entire matter to the king. The passage underscores the ethical duty of the living to complete funerary obligations with reverence, even after great calamity, so that the dead are honored and social order is restored through dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as responsibility toward the dead: completing funerary obligations with ritual care (honoring, worship, and immersion in the Gaṅgā) restores dignity to the departed and steadies the moral order of the community after catastrophe.
Men sent by the king collect the bone-remains of the deceased, perform respectful offerings with garlands and sandalwood, immerse the remains in the Gaṅgā, then return to Hastināpura to report the completion of the rites to the king.