Shloka 26

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

तृष्णाविनयनं भुज्जे गान्धारी वेद तन्‍्मम । करोत्याहारमिति मां सर्व: परिजन: सदा

Transliteration

tṛṣṇāvinayanaṃ bhuñje gāndhārī veda tan mama | karoty āhāram iti māṃ sarvaḥ parijanaḥ sadā | kadācid caturthe samaye (arthāt dvidinapare) kadācid aṣṭame samaye (arthāt caturdinapare) kevalaṃ bubhukṣāgniṃ śamayituṃ mayā kiñcid āhāraḥ kriyate | mama etad niyamaṃ kevalā gāndhārī devī jānāti | anye sarve janāḥ etad eva manyante yat ahaṃ pratidinaṃ pūrṇaṃ bhojanaṃ karomi |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra dijo: «Para dominar el deseo, como sólo con frugalidad; esto lo sabe únicamente Gāndhārī. Todos los servidores creen siempre que tomo alimento completo cada día. A veces tomo un poco sólo en la cuarta vigilia —es decir, tras dos días— y a veces en la octava —es decir, tras cuatro días—, sólo para apagar el fuego del hambre».

Word by Word

• {'tṛṣṇā': 'craving, thirst (desire)', 'vinayana': 'subduing, restraint, pacification', 'bhuñje': 'I eat, I partake (1st person singular)', 'gāndhārī': 'Gāndhārī (queen, wife of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'veda': 'knows', 'tan mama': 'that of mine / that (practice) of mine', 'āhāra': 'food, intake', 'parijana': 'attendants, household members, retinue', 'sadā': 'always', 'kadācid': 'sometimes', 'caturtha samaya': 'the fourth time/watch (here explained as after two days)', 'aṣṭama samaya': 'the eighth time/watch (here explained as after four days)', 'kevalam': 'only, merely', 'bubhukṣā': 'hunger', 'agni': 'fire', 'śamayitum': 'to extinguish, to calm', 'kiñcit': 'a little', 'niyama': 'rule, observance, vow', 'pratidinam': 'every day', 'pūrṇa bhojana': 'full meal'}

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Gāndhārī
• parijana (attendants/retinue)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined restraint over desire: food is taken not for indulgence but only to sustain life and quiet hunger. It presents ascetic self-control (niyama) as a means to reduce tṛṣṇā (craving), emphasizing inner governance over bodily impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes his secret austerity in the forest life: he eats only at long intervals and in very small quantity. Only Gāndhārī knows this; the attendants mistakenly believe he eats normally every day, showing both the hidden nature of his vow and the couple’s shared renunciant discipline.