Shloka 27
Chapter 26: Śoka-pratiṣedha, Hata-saṅkhyā, Gati-vibhāga, Pretakārya-ājñā
Restraint of Grief, Count of the Slain, Destinies, and Funerary Directives
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--महाराज! राजा धुृतराष्ट्रके ऐसा कहनेपर कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरने सुधर्मा, धौम्य, सारथि संजय, परम बुद्धिमान् विदुर, कुरुवंशी युयुत्सु तथा इन्द्रसेन आदि सेवकों एवं सम्पूर्ण सूतोंको यह आज्ञा दी कि 'आपलोग इन सबके प्रेतकार्य सम्पन्न करावें। ऐसा न हो कि कोई भी लाश अनाथके समान नष्ट हो जाय” ।। शासनाद् धर्मराजस्य क्षत्ता सूतश्न संजय: । सुधर्मा धौम्यसहित इन्द्रसेनादयस्तथा
vaiśampāyana uvāca—mahārāja! rājñā dhṛtarāṣṭreṇaivam ukte kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ sudharmāṇaṃ dhaumyaṃ sārathiṃ sañjayaṃ parama-buddhimantaṃ viduraṃ kuruvaṃśyaṃ yuyutsuṃ tathā indrasenādīn sevakān samastān sūtāṃś ca śāsanam idaṃ dadau—“yūyaṃ sarveṣāṃ pretakāryāṇi sampādayata; mā kaścid api śavaḥ anāthavat vinaśyet.” śāsanād dharmarājasya kṣattā sūtaś ca sañjayaḥ | sudharmā dhaumya-sahita indrasenādayas tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King! When Dhṛtarāṣṭra had spoken thus, Kuntī’s son Yudhiṣṭhira issued an order to Sudharmā, Dhaumya, the charioteer Sañjaya, the supremely wise Vidura, the Kuru-born Yuyutsu, and to Indrasena and the other attendants, as well as to all the sūtas: ‘See that the funerary rites for all of them are duly performed. Let it not happen that even a single corpse is lost and destroyed like one without kin.’ At the command of Dharmarāja, Vidura, the sūta Sañjaya, Sudharmā together with Dhaumya, and Indrasena and the rest set about the task.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid mass devastation, dharma requires care for the dead: proper rites, dignity, and responsibility so that no one is abandoned as ‘anātha’ (without kin). Yudhiṣṭhira’s command frames governance as compassionate stewardship, not merely victory.
After Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks, Yudhiṣṭhira instructs key court figures—Vidura, Sañjaya, Dhaumya, Sudharmā, Yuyutsu, Indrasena and others, along with the sūtas—to ensure that the funerary rites for all fallen are completed and that no corpse is left to be lost or destroyed without rites.