Shloka 6
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्षमायाचनं तथा युधिष्ठिरे न्यासदानम् / Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Request for Forgiveness and the Entrustment to Yudhiṣṭhira
ततो राजा प्राञ्जलिवेंपमानो युधिष्ठिर: सस्वरं बाष्पकण्ठ: । विमुच्योच्चैर्महानादं हि साधो क्व यास्यसीत्यपतत् तात भूमौ
tato rājā prāñjalir vepamāno yudhiṣṭhiraḥ sasvaraṃ bāṣpakaṇṭhaḥ | vimucyoccair mahānādaṃ hi sādho kva yāsyasīty apatat tāta bhūmau ||
Alors le roi Yudhiṣṭhira, les paumes jointes, se mit à trembler ; sa voix se brisa, la gorge étranglée par les larmes. Poussant un grand cri d’angoisse, il pleura à découvert et, disant : « Ô homme noble, où vas-tu en me laissant derrière toi ? », il s’effondra sur la terre.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human and ethical dimension of dharma: reverence for elders and dependence on moral guides. When those guides depart (often toward renunciation), even the most self-controlled ruler experiences grief, showing that righteousness includes sincere feeling and humility, not emotional hardness.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, trembling with folded hands and choked by tears, cries out loudly and collapses to the ground, pleading with a revered elder—addressed as “tāta” and “sādhu”—asking where he is going and why he is leaving.