Shloka 5
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure for Forest Life
अचिन्तयंश्व जननीं ततस्ते पाण्डुनन्दना: । कथं नु वृद्धमिथुनं वहत्यतिकृशा पृथा
acintayaṃś ca jananīṃ tatas te pāṇḍu-nandanāḥ | kathaṃ nu vṛddha-mithunaṃ vahaty ati-kṛśā pṛthā ||
അപ്പോൾ പാണ്ഡുപുത്രന്മാർ മാതാവിനെക്കുറിച്ച് ആശങ്കയോടെ ചിന്തിച്ചു—“അത്യന്തം ക്ഷീണിതയായ പൃഥാ (കുന്തി) ആ വൃദ്ധദമ്പതികളെ എങ്ങനെ താങ്ങി കൂടെ കൊണ്ടുപോകും?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma expressed as compassion and responsibility: even amid renunciation and hardship, the moral impulse to protect and care for one’s mother and elders remains central.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the Pāṇḍavas, thinking of their mother Pṛthā (Kuntī), worry about her physical frailty and question how she can manage to support and accompany an elderly couple during their difficult forest life.