Shloka 13
Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)
वने स मुनिशि: सर्व: पूज्यमानो महातपा: । त्वगस्थिमात्रशेष: स षण्मासानभवन्नूप:
vane sa muniśiḥ sarvaḥ pūjyamāno mahātapāḥ | tvag-asthi-mātra-śeṣaḥ sa ṣaṇmāsān abhavan nūpaḥ ||
Nārada dit : «Dans cette forêt, tous les sages qui y demeuraient se mirent à l’honorer d’une révérence particulière. Le grand ascète Dhṛtarāṣṭra fut réduit à presque rien : une charpente d’os couverte de peau ; et dans cet état il passa six mois.»
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic ideal that true honor follows inner discipline: when a former king embraces austerity and detachment, even forest sages revere him. It frames late-life renunciation as an ethical transformation from power to self-mastery.
Nārada describes Dhṛtarāṣṭra living in the forest among sages. The ascetics honor him, and his body becomes extremely emaciated—only skin and bones—while he continues his austerities for six months.