Shloka 39
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
धुन्धुमारश्न राजर्षि: सत्रेष्वेव जरां गत: । प्रीतिदायं परित्यज्य सुष्वाप स गिरिव्रजे
dhundhumāraśna rājarṣiḥ satreṣv eva jarāṃ gataḥ | prītidāyaṃ parityajya suṣvāpa sa girivraje ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ರಾಜರ್ಷಿ ಧುಂಧುಮಾರಶ್ನ ಯಜ್ಞಸತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರತವಾಗಿಯೇ ವೃದ್ಧನಾದನು; ಪ್ರೀತಿಕರವಾದ ಸುಖವನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ ಗಿರಿವ್ರಜದ ಆಶ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಯನಿಸಿದನು।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That even a ruler devoted to Vedic duties may, upon reaching old age, consciously relinquish pleasures and comforts, embracing simplicity and restraint as a dharmic transition toward detachment.
Bhīṣma describes the royal sage Dhundhumāraśna: after becoming aged through long participation in sacrificial rites, he gives up pleasurable living and rests in a secluded mountain retreat, signaling a shift from ritual and worldly life toward austerity.