Shloka 20
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Permission for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Forest-Retirement
शान्तो5स्मि वयसानेन तथा पुत्रविनाकृत: । उपवासकृश श्वास्मि गान्धारीसहितो5नघा:
śānto ’smi vayasānena tathā putravinākṛtaḥ | upavāsakṛśaś cāsmi gāndhārīsahito ’naghaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Je suis brisé par la vieillesse, et je suis aussi privé de mes fils. Je me suis amaigri par le jeûne et — avec Gāndhārī — je suis devenu faible, ô toi qui es sans faute. »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that even in a life of austerity and withdrawal, the consequences of attachment and loss remain; dharmic endurance lies in acknowledging grief and bodily decline without collapsing into resentment, meeting suffering with restraint and discipline.
In the Āśramavāsika context, the elder (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra, though the verse itself does not name him) speaks of being worn down by age, bereft of sons, and weakened by fasting, while living together with Gāndhārī in a renunciant mode.