Shloka 38

Gāndhārī’s Petition for a Vision of the Departed (गान्धार्याः प्रार्थना—दिव्यदर्शनप्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते आश्रमवासिके पर्वणि नारदागमनपर्वणि युधिष्ठिरविलापे अष्टात्रिंशोडध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate āśramavāsike parvaṇi nāradāgamanaparvaṇi yudhiṣṭhiravilāpe aṣṭātriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ ശ്രീമഹാഭാരതത്തിലെ ആശ്രമവാസികപർവത്തിൽ, നാരദാഗമനപർവത്തിനകത്ത്, യുധിഷ്ഠിരന്റെ വിലാപത്തെ ആധാരമാക്കിയ മുപ്പത്തെട്ടാം അധ്യായം സമാപ്തമായി।

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीमहाभारतेin the revered Mahabharata

आश्रमवासिकेin (the Parva) called Ashramavasika

पर्वणिin the book/section (Parva)

नारदागमनपर्वणिin the sub-section 'Narada's arrival'

युधिष्ठिरविलापेin (the section) 'Yudhishthira's lament'

अष्टात्रिंशःthirty-eighth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Āśramavāsika Parva

Nārada

Yudhiṣṭhira

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?

Even when the narrative is framed as a chapter-ending colophon, the highlighted theme—Yudhiṣṭhira’s lament in the wake of catastrophic events—points to the ethical burden of kingship and the dharmic struggle to reconcile duty with grief, urging reflection, restraint, and eventual movement toward renunciation and inner steadiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line functions as a concluding colophon: it identifies the epic (Mahābhārata), the larger book (Āśramavāsika Parva), the sub-section (Nārada’s arrival), and the chapter’s focus (Yudhiṣṭhira’s lament), marking the end of the thirty-eighth chapter.