Shloka 15
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Public Request for Consent to Enter the Forest (अनुज्ञा-प्रार्थना)
एवं स पुत्रपौत्राणां पितृणामात्मनस्तथा । गान्धार्याश्व महाराज प्रददावौर्ध्वदेहिकम्
evaṁ sa putrapautrāṇāṁ pitṝṇām ātmanaḥ tathā | gāndhāryāś ca mahārāja pradadāv aurdhvadehikam ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「かくして大王よ、彼は子らと孫らのため、祖霊のため、己がため、そしてガーンダーリーのためにも、死後の儀礼（ウールダヴァ・デーヒカ—シュラーダッダ等の供養）を法にかなって執り行った。これは亡き者を敬い、祖先の秩序を保つという倫理の務めを果たすものであった。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores pitṛ-dharma: the moral and ritual responsibility to honor the departed through prescribed offerings. Even amid loss and renunciation, one sustains social and cosmic continuity by remembering ancestors, family members, and fulfilling obligations without neglect.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Dhṛtarāṣṭra arranged and performed the aurdhvadehika rites—post-death offerings—for those connected to him: his sons and grandsons, his ancestors, himself (as a formal inclusion in the rite’s scope), and Gāndhārī, addressing the account to King Janamejaya.