Shloka 49

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

सो<हं वनं गमिष्यामि निर्बन्धुर्ज्ञातिसंक्षये । न हि मेडन्यद्‌ भवेच्छेयो वनाभ्युपगमादृते

Transliteration

so 'haṁ vanaṁ gamiṣyāmi nirbandhur jñātisaṁkṣaye | na hi me 'nyad bhavec chreyo vanābhyupagamād ṛte ||

Translation

“I will go to the forest—bereft of kinsmen, for my relatives have been destroyed. For me, there is no better course than withdrawing to the forest; apart from taking refuge in forest-life, I see no true good.”

Word by Word

सःhe (I myself, in apposition)

अहम्I

वनम्to the forest

गमिष्यामिI shall go

निर्बन्धुःwithout kinsmen

ज्ञाति-संक्षयेin the destruction of (my) kinsmen

नnot

हिindeed/for

मेfor me / to me

अन्यत्anything else

भवेत्might be / could be

श्रेयःbetter (good)

वन-अभ्युपगमात्than going to the forest

ऋतेexcept/without

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

vana (forest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When one’s social world collapses through the destruction of kin, the speaker identifies śreyas (true welfare) not in further worldly striving but in withdrawal—seeking purification, restraint, and perspective through forest-life (a traditional path of renunciation and austerity).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the wake of jñāti-saṁkṣaya (the ruin of relatives caused by the great war), the speaker declares an intention to leave society and go to the forest, judging that no other course offers genuine good for him in such a devastated familial and moral landscape.