Shloka 18

Devanagari script

स तै: परिवृतो मेने हर्षबाष्पाविलेक्षण: । राजा55त्मानं गृहगतं पुरेव गजसाह्नये,उन सबसे घिरे हुए राजा धृतराष्ट्र अपने नेत्रोंसे हर्षके आँसू बहाने लगे। उस समय उन्हें ऐसा जान पड़ा मानो मैं पहलेकी ही भाँति हस्तिनापुरके राजमहलमें बैठा हूँ

Transliteration

sa taiḥ parivṛto mene harṣabāṣpāvilokṣaṇaḥ | rājā dhṛtarāṣṭra ātmānaṃ gṛhagatam pureva gajasāhnaye ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Dikelilingi mereka, Raja Dhṛtarāṣṭra—matanya berkabut oleh air mata kegembiraan—menyangka dirinya seakan pulang ke rumah, seperti dahulu kala, duduk kembali di istana diraja Hastināpura.

Word by Word

सःhe

तैःby them / with them

परिवृतःsurrounded

मेनेthought / considered

हर्ष-बाष्प-अविलेक्षणःwhose eyes were clouded with tears of joy

राजाthe king

आत्मानम्himself

गृह-गतम्gone home / returned home

पुराformerly

इवas if

गज-साह्नयेto/for the elephant-stable (elephant-house)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Hastināpura

royal palace (gṛha/pura)

gajasāhni (elephant-yard/elephant-stable precinct)

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 after the collapse of worldly power, the mind may cling to comforting images of former status and home. The verse implicitly warns that unresolved attachment can obscure clear ethical reckoning, and that true peace requires inner detachment rather than reliance on nostalgic self-deception.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is surrounded by companions and becomes overwhelmed with joy, shedding tears. In that moment he imagines himself back in the old days, as if he were again at home in Hastināpura’s royal palace, within the palace precinct associated with the elephant-yard.