Shloka 123
धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति व्यवहार-रक्षा-नियमनोपदेशः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Instruction on Administration, Punishment, and Daily Governance
परैर्विनिहतामात्यो वनं गन्तुमभीप्सति । “एक दिन जो सम्पूर्ण भूमण्डलका भरण-पोषण करनेवाले नरेश थे, उनके सारे मन्त्री और सहायक शत्रुओंद्वारा मार डाले गये और आज वे वनमें जाना चाहते हैं
parair vinihatāmātyo vanaṃ gantum abhīpsati |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Walau para menterinya telah dibunuh oleh musuh, kini ia merindukan keberangkatan ke hutan. Dahulu ia raja yang memelihara seluruh lingkar bumi; sekarang, kehilangan para penasihat dan penopang, ia mencari perlindungan asketis rimba—kedaulatan yang dibalikkan oleh perang, dan penguasa yang berpaling dari kuasa menuju pelepasan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly power and its supports—ministers, allies, and prosperity—are fragile; when they collapse, a ruler may be called to seek a higher dharma through restraint and renunciation. The verse underscores impermanence and the ethical turn from domination to self-discipline.
The narrator describes a king whose ministers have been killed by enemies; despite having once sustained the realm, he now wishes to go to the forest, signaling a transition from royal life to an ascetic, withdrawn mode of living in the post-war aftermath.