Shloka 11
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure for Forest Life
“मेरा अहोभाग्य कि मैं तपस्यामें लगी हुई माता कुन्तीका दर्शन करूँगा। उनके सिरके बाल जटारूपमें परिणत हो गये होंगे! वे तपस्विनी बूढ़ी माता कुश और काशके आसनोंपर शयन करनेके कारण क्षत-विक्षत हो रही होंगी
mama aho-bhāgyaṃ yat ahaṃ tapasyāyāṃ lagitāyāḥ mātāḥ kuntyāḥ darśanaṃ kariṣyāmi | tasyāḥ śiraso keśāḥ jaṭā-rūpeṇa pariṇatā bhaviṣyanti | sā tapasvinī vṛddhā mātā kuśa-kāśa-āsaneṣu śayanāt kṣata-vikṣatā bhaviṣyati |
「ああ、なんという幸いだろう。苦行に没入する母クンティーを、私はこの目で拝することができる。頭髪はすでにジャターのように絡み合い、束ねられているに違いない。クシャ草とカーシャ草の座に横たわる老いた女行者の母は、その誓戒の苛烈さゆえに、身を打ち傷つけ、擦りむいていることだろう。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharma expressed as voluntary austerity and detachment after worldly duties are fulfilled. It also frames ethical reverence for elders—especially a mother who has embraced hardship for spiritual ends—inviting compassion and respect rather than attachment to comfort.
The speaker (Vaiśampāyana) conveys an expectation of meeting Mother Kuntī living as an ascetic. He imagines visible signs of her forest discipline—matted hair and bodily injuries from sleeping on rough grass bedding—underscoring the severity of her vow in the āśrama (forest-dwelling) phase.