Shloka 1
Chapter 10: Survivors Console the Royal Couple and Disperse (धृतराष्ट्र–गान्धारी प्रति निवेदनम्)
अपन बक। है २ >> दशमो< ध्याय: स्त्रियों और प्रजाके लोगोंके सहित राजा धुृतराष्ट्रका रणभूमिमें जानेके लिये नगरसे बाहर निकलना वैशम्पायन उवाच विदुरस्य तु तद् वाक्यं श्रुत्वा तु पुरुषर्षभ:ः । युज्यतां यानमित्युक्त्वा पुनर्वचनमब्रवीत्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! विदुरकी यह बात सुनकर पुरुषश्रेष्ठ राजा धृतराष्ट्रने रथ जोतनेकी आज्ञा देकर पुन: इस प्रकार कहा
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vidurasya tu tad vākyaṃ śrutvā tu puruṣarṣabhaḥ | yujyatāṃ yānam ity uktvā punar vacanam abravīt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Hearing those words of Vidura, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra—foremost among men—ordered that the conveyance be made ready, and then spoke again.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even before explicit moral instruction is stated, the verse frames ethical accountability: a ruler must face the outcomes of decisions and actions taken in war, and wise counsel (Vidura’s) prompts movement toward confronting truth rather than avoiding it.
After hearing Vidura’s words, Dhṛtarāṣṭra orders that the vehicle be prepared and prepares to speak further—setting up his departure from the city toward the battlefield along with the women and citizens (as indicated by the chapter’s theme in the Gītā Press heading).