Shloka 6
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Permission for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Forest-Retirement
तमासनगतं देवी गान्धारी धर्मचारिणी । उवाच काले कालज्ञा प्रजापतिसमं पतिम्,वहाँ जब वे आसनपर विराजमान हुए, तब समयका ज्ञान रखनेवाली धर्मपरायणा गान्धारी देवीने उस समय प्रजापतिके समान अपने पतिसे इस प्रकार पूछा-- विमर्द: सुमहानासीदनयात् स्वकृतादथ । (घातिता: कौरवेयाश्व पृथिवी च विनाशिता ।) उस दुर्बुद्धिके अपने ही किये हुए अन्याय, अपराध और अभिमानसे यहाँ असंख्य राजाओंका महान् संहार हो गया। सारे कौरव मारे गये और पृथ्वीका विनाश हो गया ।। ५३ || तन्मया साधु वापीदं यदि वासाधु वै कृतम्
tam āsanagataṃ devī gāndhārī dharmacāriṇī | uvāca kāle kālajñā prajāpatisamaṃ patim | vimardaḥ sumahān āsīd anayāt svakṛtād atha | ghātitāḥ kauraveyāś ca pṛthivī ca vināśitā | tanmayā sādhu vāpīdaṃ yadi vāsādhu vai kṛtam |
When he had taken his seat, Queen Gāndhārī—steadfast in dharma and discerning of the right moment—addressed her husband, who was like Prajāpati in dignity. She said: “A terrible calamity has arisen from the injustice you yourself set in motion. Countless kings have been slain; the Kauravas have been destroyed, and the earth itself has been brought to ruin. Tell me—was what I did in this matter right, or was it wrong?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames mass suffering as the consequence of adharma initiated and sustained by one’s own choices. It also models ethical self-examination: even the righteous (Gāndhārī) asks whether her actions were truly proper, emphasizing accountability over self-justification.
After Dhṛtarāṣṭra sits, Gāndhārī speaks at an appropriate moment. She recalls the immense devastation—the death of the Kauravas and many kings and the ruin of the earth’s order—and asks whether her own role and decisions in the unfolding events were right or wrong.