Mahabharata — Ashramavasika Parva, Shloka 1636
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
दह्यमानस्य शोकेन तव पुत्रकृतेन वै । राजेन्द्र! तुम्हारे हृदयमें जो कहनेकी इच्छा हो रही है, उसे मैं जानता हूँ। तुम निरन्तर अपने मरे हुए पुत्रोंक शोकसे जलते रहते हो
dahyamānasya śokena tava putrakṛtena vai | rājendra, tava hṛdaye yat vaktum icchā jāyate tad ahaṃ jānāmi | tvaṃ nirantaraṃ svamṛtaputrāṇāṃ śokena dahyase ||
રાજેન્દ્ર! તારા હૃદયમાં જે કહેવાની ઇચ્છા ઊઠી રહી છે તે હું જાણું છું. કારણ કે પુત્રોના કારણે તું શોકની અગ્નિથી સતત દહાઈ રહ્યો છે—મૃત પુત્રો માટે વિલાપ કરતો.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the consuming nature of attachment-born grief and prepares the ground for counsel: a ruler must acknowledge sorrow yet seek steadiness and discernment, remembering the impermanence of life and the ethical duty to endure without being destroyed by lamentation.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a grieving king, stating that he understands the king’s unspoken thoughts and recognizes that the king is continually tormented by sorrow for his deceased sons—an intimate moment of recognition before further consolation or instruction.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.