Shloka 3
अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
वृद्ध च हतपुत्रं च धर्मपत्न्या सहानया । विलपन्तं बहुविधं कृपणं चैव सत्तमा:
vṛddhaṃ ca hataputraṃ ca dharmapatnyā sahānayā | vilapantaṃ bahuvidhaṃ kṛpaṇaṃ caiva sattamāḥ ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—वह वृद्ध था, पुत्रों से वंचित था; और इस धर्मपत्नी के साथ अनेक प्रकार से करुण विलाप कर रहा था—हे नरश्रेष्ठ!
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional reckoning after violence: worldly power collapses into sorrow, and the turn toward renunciation/forest-dwelling is presented as a dharmic response to loss and the burden of past actions.
Vaiśampāyana describes an elderly, son-bereaved figure lamenting with his lawful wife. This sets the tone for the Ashramavāsika episode, where the elders, overwhelmed by grief and consequences, move toward withdrawal from courtly life.