Shloka 3
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
यत् तदाश्चर्यमिति वै करिष्यामीत्युवाच ह । व्यास: परमतेजस्वी महर्षिस्तद् वदस्व मे
janamejaya uvāca |
yat tad āścaryam iti vai kariṣyāmīty uvāca ha |
vyāsaḥ paramatejasvī maharṣis tad vadasva me ||
Janamejaya disse: “O sapiente Vyāsa, de fulgor supremo, certa vez declarou: ‘Farei surgir algo maravilhoso.’ Dize-me, ó venerável, como ocorreu esse acontecimento assombroso—na ocasião em que o rei Dhṛtarāṣṭra, senhor da terra, partiu para a vida na floresta com sua esposa legítima Gāndhārī e sua nora Kuntī; quando Vidura alcançou a perfeição e entrou no corpo de Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira; e quando todos os Pāṇḍavas vieram residir no recinto do eremitério.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical-spiritual transition after worldly power: elders embrace forest-renunciation, and a realized being (Vidura) is portrayed as attaining siddhi and merging into the righteous king—suggesting that dharma and inner realization, not mere kingship, are the enduring center of authority.
Janamejaya asks for clarification about Vyāsa’s earlier promise to reveal a ‘marvel.’ He situates the question at a specific moment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra leaves for the forest with Gāndhārī and Kuntī; Vidura attains perfection and enters Yudhiṣṭhira; and the Pāṇḍavas are living in the hermitage precinct.