Shloka 8
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
ऊषुर्महावने तात सिंहव्याप्रगजाकुले । बाला विहीना: पित्रा ते मया सततलालिता:
ūṣur mahāvane tāta siṁhavyāghragajākule | bālā vihīnāḥ pitrā te mayā satatalālitāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Dear one, they lived in a vast forest, thronged with lions, tigers, and elephants. Those children, deprived of their father, were continually cherished and cared for by me.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic responsibility: when children are bereft of a father, a guardian’s duty is steady protection and affectionate care, even amid danger and hardship.
Vaiśampāyana describes a period when the children lived in a perilous great forest filled with wild beasts, and he emphasizes that, despite being fatherless, they were continuously nurtured under his care.