Shloka 73

धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Permission for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Forest-Retirement

Devanagari script

पूर्वराज्ञां च पुत्रो5यमिति कृत्वानुजानथ । “यह राजा धृतराष्ट्र बूढ़ा है। इसके पुत्र मारे गये हैं; अतः यह दुःखमें डूबा हुआ है और यह अपने प्राचीन राजाओंका वंशज है'--ऐसा समझकर आपलोग मेरे अपराधोंको क्षमा करते हुए मुझे वनमें जानेकी आज्ञा दें

Transliteration

pūrvarājñāṃ ca putro ’yam iti kṛtvānujānatha |

Translation

‘ଏ ଜଣେ ପୂର୍ବତନ ରାଜାମାନଙ୍କ ବଂଶଜ’ ବୋଲି ଭାବି ଆପଣମାନେ ଅନୁମତି ଦିଅନ୍ତୁ। ‘ଏହି ରାଜା ଧୃତରାଷ୍ଟ୍ର ବୃଦ୍ଧ; ତାଙ୍କ ପୁତ୍ରମାନେ ନିହତ; ତେଣୁ ସେ ଶୋକରେ ଡୁବିଛନ୍ତି, ଏବଂ ସେ ପୂର୍ବ ରାଜବଂଶର’—ଏମିତି ବୁଝି, ମୋ ଅପରାଧକୁ କ୍ଷମା କରି, ମୋତେ ବନକୁ ଯିବା ପାଇଁ ଆଜ୍ଞା ଦିଅନ୍ତୁ।

Word by Word

पूर्वराज्ञाम्of the former kings

चand

पुत्रःson

अयम्this (man)

इतिthus

कृत्वाhaving considered / having done (so)

अनुजानथpermit (you all)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

pūrvarājāḥ (ancient kings/forefathers)

vana (forest)

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?

The verse foregrounds compassion and dharmic discretion: one should temper judgment with awareness of age, bereavement, and lineage-responsibility, and respond with forgiveness and permission for a life of withdrawal when worldly duties have collapsed.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker frames Dhṛtarāṣṭra as an aged, grief-stricken scion of the old royal line and urges others to pardon perceived faults and allow him to depart to the forest—signaling the transition from courtly life to vānaprastha/retirement.