Shloka 73

धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Permission for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Forest-Retirement

Devanagari script

पूर्वराज्ञां च पुत्रो5यमिति कृत्वानुजानथ । “यह राजा धृतराष्ट्र बूढ़ा है। इसके पुत्र मारे गये हैं; अतः यह दुःखमें डूबा हुआ है और यह अपने प्राचीन राजाओंका वंशज है'--ऐसा समझकर आपलोग मेरे अपराधोंको क्षमा करते हुए मुझे वनमें जानेकी आज्ञा दें

Transliteration

pūrvarājñāṃ ca putro ’yam iti kṛtvānujānatha |

Translation

ໄວສັມປາຍະນະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ໂດຍເຫັນແກ່ວ່າລາວເປັນຜູ້ສືບສາຍຈາກກະສັດໂບຮານ, ຂໍຈົ່ງອະນຸຍາດໃຫ້ລາວ. ‘ກະສັດທຣິຕະຣາສະຕຣະນີ້ແກ່ຊະລາ; ບຸດຂອງລາວຖືກສັງຫານ; ດັ່ງນັ້ນລາວຈົມຢູ່ໃນຄວາມໂສກ ແລະເປັນຜູ້ຢູ່ໃນສາຍວົງຂອງຜູ້ປົກຄອງເກົ່າ’—ເມື່ອເຂົ້າໃຈດັ່ງນີ້ ຂໍຈົ່ງອະໄພຄວາມຜິດຂອງຂ້າພະເຈົ້າ ແລະອະນຸຍາດໃຫ້ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າໄປສູ່ປ່າ»។

Word by Word

पूर्वराज्ञाम्of the former kings

चand

पुत्रःson

अयम्this (man)

इतिthus

कृत्वाhaving considered / having done (so)

अनुजानथpermit (you all)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

pūrvarājāḥ (ancient kings/forefathers)

vana (forest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds compassion and dharmic discretion: one should temper judgment with awareness of age, bereavement, and lineage-responsibility, and respond with forgiveness and permission for a life of withdrawal when worldly duties have collapsed.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker frames Dhṛtarāṣṭra as an aged, grief-stricken scion of the old royal line and urges others to pardon perceived faults and allow him to depart to the forest—signaling the transition from courtly life to vānaprastha/retirement.