Shloka 2
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
तथा पौरजन: सर्व: शोचन्नास्ते जनाधिपम् । कुर्वाणाश्व कथास्तत्र ब्राह्मणा नृपतिं प्रति
tathā paurajanaḥ sarvaḥ śocann āste janādhipam | kurvāṇāś ca kathās tatra brāhmaṇā nṛpatiṃ prati ||
«Del mismo modo, todo el pueblo de la ciudad permanecía sumido en el duelo por su soberano. Allí, los brāhmaṇas también hablaban sin cesar entre sí acerca de aquel rey anciano, poniendo su estado y su destino en el centro de sus conversaciones.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights social and ethical responsibility toward a ruler in distress: collective grief and thoughtful discourse by elders (brāhmaṇas) reflect a community’s duty to remember, evaluate, and respond to the moral consequences surrounding kingship and its decline.
After the great events leading into the Āśramavāsika context, the citizens remain sorrowful for their king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), while the brāhmaṇas in that place repeatedly discuss him—indicating widespread concern for the aged monarch’s situation.