Shloka 353
Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)
तयोश्व देव्योरुभयोर्मया दृष्टानि भारत । भरतनन्दन! वनमें घूमते समय अकस्मात् राजा धृतराष्ट्र तथा उन देवियोंके मृत शरीर मेरी दृष्टिमें पड़े थे
tayor devyor ubhayor mayā dṛṣṭāni bhārata | bharatanandana vane bhramatāṃ samaye ’kasmāt rājā dhṛtarāṣṭraś ca tāś ca devyo mṛtaśarīrāṇi mama dṛṣṭipathe patitāni ||
നാരദൻ പറഞ്ഞു— “ഹേ ഭാരതാ, ഭാരതകുലാനന്ദനേ! വനത്തിൽ സഞ്ചരിക്കുമ്പോൾ അപ്രതീക്ഷിതമായി രാജാവ് ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രന്റെയും ആ രണ്ടു ദേവിമാരുടെയും മൃതശരീരങ്ങൾ എന്റെ കണ്ണിൽപ്പെട്ടു.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the inevitability of death even for kings and revered queens, reinforcing a dharmic perspective that worldly status cannot prevent the fruition of karma and the natural end of embodied life.
Nārada reports to a Bharata prince that, while roaming in the forest, he unexpectedly saw the dead bodies of King Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the two queens, indicating their end during forest life and setting the stage for the survivors’ reflection and rites.