Shloka 21
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Bereavement and the Averted Assault on Bhīma (Āyasī Pratimā Episode)
शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्य तो हस्तिनापुर चले गये, कृतवर्मा अपने ही देशकी ओर चल दिया और द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने व्यास-आश्रमकी राह ली
Śaradvānaka-putraḥ Kṛpācāryaḥ tu Hastināpuraṃ cale gataḥ, Kṛtavarmā svam eva deśaṃ prati calitaḥ, Droṇaputraḥ Aśvatthāmā ca Vyāsa-āśrama-mārgaṃ jagāma.
Vaiśampāyana said: Kṛpa, the son of Śaradvat, set out for Hastināpura; Kṛtavarmā departed toward his own land; and Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā took the road to Vyāsa’s hermitage. In the aftermath of devastation, each survivor turns to a different refuge—royal duty, homeland, or the shelter of a sage—hinting at the moral need to seek order, accountability, and restraint after violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
After catastrophic violence, survivors must move toward stabilizing forces—right governance, responsible return to one’s place, and the restraint and counsel found with sages—so that grief does not turn into further wrongdoing.
Vaiśampāyana narrates the dispersal of key Kaurava-aligned survivors: Kṛpa heads to Hastināpura, Kṛtavarmā goes back to his homeland, and Aśvatthāmā proceeds toward Vyāsa’s hermitage.