Shloka 6
Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)
युधिछिर उवाच वदन्ति पुरुषा मेउद्य गड्जातीरनिवासिन: । धृतराष्ट्र महात्मानमास्थितं परमं तप:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
vadanti puruṣā me ’dya gaṅgātīrani-vāsinaḥ |
dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ mahātmānam āsthitaṃ paramaṃ tapaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Hoje, homens que vivem ao longo das margens do Gaṅgā dizem-me que Dhṛtarāṣṭra, de grande alma, empreendeu a mais elevada austeridade.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even those burdened by past errors and the consequences of power can turn toward dharma through tapas—self-restraint, simplicity, and sincere moral reckoning. The verse frames austerity as an ethical response to life’s entanglements, not merely a ritual act.
Yudhiṣṭhira reports what he has heard from people living by the Gaṅgā: Dhṛtarāṣṭra has taken up severe ascetic practice. This signals Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s withdrawal from courtly life into an āśrama-like discipline, a key movement of the Āśramavāsika narrative.