Shloka 14
Vāraṇāvata-praveśa and Jatugṛha-saṃdeha
Entry into Vāraṇāvata and Suspicion of the Lac-House
(बाह्लीकं सोमदत्तं च भूरिश्रवसमेव च । कुरूनन्यांश्व सचिवानादाय नगरादू बहि: ।।) मुक्ताजालपरिक्षिप्तं वैदूर्यममणिशोभितम् । शातकुम्भमयं दिव्यं प्रेक्षागारमुपागमत्,तत्पश्चात् जब निश्चित दिन आया, तब मन्त्रियोंसहित राजा धृतराष्ट्र भीष्मजी तथा आचार्यप्रवर कृपको आगे करके बाह्नलीक, सोमदत्त, भूरिश्रवा तथा अन्यान्य कौरवों और मन्त्रियोंको साथ ले नगरसे बाहर उस दिव्य प्रेक्षागृहमें आये। उसमें मोतियोंकी झालरें लगी थीं, वैदूर्यमणियोंसे उस भवनको सजाया गया था तथा उसकी दीवारोंमें स्वर्णखण्ड मढ़े गये थे
bāhlīkaṃ somadattaṃ ca bhūriśravasam eva ca | kurūn anyāṃś ca sacivān ādāya nagarād bahir || muktājālaparikṣiptaṃ vaidūryamaṇiśobhitam | śātakumbhamayaṃ divyaṃ prekṣāgāram upāgamat ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: Taking with him Bāhlīka, Somadatta, and Bhūriśravas, along with other Kurus and his ministers, he went out of the city and approached a splendid viewing-hall. It was draped with nets of pearls, adorned with vaidūrya gems, and fashioned with divine panels of pure gold—an outward display of royal magnificence that frames the coming events with the contrast between glittering power and the moral peril that follows.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how royal grandeur and external brilliance can surround moments of grave ethical consequence; it subtly prepares the reader to notice the tension between dazzling power and the need for discernment and dharma in what follows.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, accompanied by senior Kuru figures (Bāhlīka, Somadatta, Bhūriśravas), other Kurus, and ministers, leaves the city and goes to a richly decorated viewing-hall prepared for public spectacle.