Shloka 18
Kuntī’s Retrospective Uddharṣaṇa and Renunciatory Resolve (कुन्त्युद्धर्षण-प्रत्याख्यानम्)
स तै: परिवृतो मेने हर्षबाष्पाविलेक्षण: । राजा55त्मानं गृहगतं पुरेव गजसाह्नये,उन सबसे घिरे हुए राजा धृतराष्ट्र अपने नेत्रोंसे हर्षके आँसू बहाने लगे। उस समय उन्हें ऐसा जान पड़ा मानो मैं पहलेकी ही भाँति हस्तिनापुरके राजमहलमें बैठा हूँ
sa taiḥ parivṛto mene harṣabāṣpāvilokṣaṇaḥ | rājā dhṛtarāṣṭra ātmānaṃ gṛhagatam pureva gajasāhnaye ||
તેમના દ્વારા ઘેરાયેલા રાજા ધૃતરાષ્ટ્રની આંખો આનંદાશ્રુથી ધૂંધળી થઈ; અને તેમને એવું લાગ્યું કે જાણે તેઓ પૂર્વવત્ ગજસાહ્વય (હસ્તિનાપુર)ના રાજમહેલમાં ઘેર પરત આવ્યા હોય।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after the collapse of worldly power, the mind may cling to comforting images of former status and home. The verse implicitly warns that unresolved attachment can obscure clear ethical reckoning, and that true peace requires inner detachment rather than reliance on nostalgic self-deception.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra is surrounded by companions and becomes overwhelmed with joy, shedding tears. In that moment he imagines himself back in the old days, as if he were again at home in Hastināpura’s royal palace, within the palace precinct associated with the elephant-yard.