Shloka 1
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
अपन ह< बक। है २ >> एकविशो< ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्र आदिके लिये पाण्डवों तथा पुरवासियोंकी चिन्ता वैशम्पायन उवाच वनं॑ गते कौरवेन्द्रे द:ःखशोकसमन्विता: । बभूवु: पाण्डवा राजन् मातृशोकेन चान्विता:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vanam gate kauravendre duḥkhaśokasamanvitāḥ |
babhūvuḥ pāṇḍavā rājan mātṛśokena cānvitāḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Oh rey (Janamejaya), cuando el señor de los Kurus (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) partió al bosque, los Pāṇḍavas quedaron abatidos por el dolor y la aflicción. También los consumía la angustia del duelo por su madre, un sufrimiento que seguía ardiendo en su interior.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of familial bonds and the cost of dharma after conflict: even rightful victory does not erase grief. It also frames the forest-life (vanaprastha/retirement) of elders as a dharmic transition that deeply affects those who remain, reminding rulers that governance includes bearing personal loss with steadiness.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Kuru elder, has departed for the forest. In response, the Pāṇḍavas are plunged into sorrow—intensified by the recent loss of their mother—setting the emotional and moral atmosphere for the ensuing events of the Āśramavāsika narrative.