Shloka 103
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
निरानन्द गतश्रीकं हृताराममिवाशयम् | शून्यरूपमपध्वस्तं दुःखाद दुःखतरो5भवत्
sañjaya uvāca | nirānanda-gataśrīkaṁ hṛtārāmam ivāśayam | śūnya-rūpam apadhvastaṁ duḥkhād duḥkhataraḥ abhavat |
Sañjaya said: The royal residence appeared devoid of joy and stripped of its former splendor. It looked like a reservoir whose delight has been taken away—empty in aspect and as if ruined. On reaching that place, Vidura became overwhelmed, his sorrow turning into still deeper grief, for the house that once embodied order and prosperity now stood as a hollow sign of loss.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly prosperity (śrī) and the ethical cost of adharma-driven conflict: when righteous order collapses, even a royal house becomes an empty shell, and sorrow deepens for the wise who recognize what has been lost.
Sañjaya describes the palace as joyless and ruined-looking, like a drained or pleasureless reservoir. When Vidura arrives and sees this desolation, his grief intensifies.