Mahabharata 15.28.2 — Ashramavasika Parva, Adhyaya 28, Shloka 2
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
विदुरे चापि संसिद्धि धर्मराजं व्यपाश्रिते । वसत्सु पाण्डुपुत्रेषु सर्वेष्वाश्रममण्डले
vidure cāpi saṁsiddhiṁ dharmarājaṁ vyapāśrite | vasatsu pāṇḍuputreṣu sarveṣv āśramamaṇḍale ||
Janamejaya berkata: “Apabila Dhṛtarāṣṭra, penguasa bumi, berangkat menjalani kehidupan di rimba bersama permaisurinya Gāndhārī dan menantunya Kuntī; apabila Vidura telah mencapai kesempurnaan rohani lalu memasuki diri Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira; dan apabila semua putera Pāṇḍu tinggal di lingkungan pertapaan—bagaimanakah terjadinya peristiwa menakjubkan yang telah diramalkan oleh Vyāsa yang bercahaya, katanya, ‘Aku akan menyingkap suatu kejadian yang menghairankan’? Tolong ceritakan kepadaku.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the movement from worldly roles to spiritual culmination: elders embrace renunciation, and Vidura’s ‘siddhi’ signifies inner realization that ultimately seeks refuge in dharma itself—embodied by Yudhiṣṭhira. It frames dharma not merely as rule-following but as a living principle that can ‘receive’ and preserve wisdom when the realized withdraw from ordinary life.
Janamejaya asks Vaiśaṁpāyana to explain a marvel foretold by Vyāsa: after Dhṛtarāṣṭra departs for the forest with Gāndhārī and Kuntī, Vidura attains perfection and enters into Yudhiṣṭhira, while the Pāṇḍavas reside in the hermitage precinct. The question sets up the account of how this extraordinary event took place.
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