Shloka 8
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
पाण्डवाश्वैव ते सर्वे भूशं शोकपरायणा: । शोचन्तो मातरं वृद्धामूषुर्नातिचिरं पुरे
pāṇḍavāś caiva te sarve bhṛśaṃ śokaparāyaṇāḥ | śocanto mātaraṃ vṛddhām ūṣuḥ nāticiraṃ pure ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—ते सर्वे पाण्डवाः शोकपरायणा भूत्वा दुःखेनाभिभूताः सर्वथा शोकमग्ना बभूवुः। वृद्धां मातरं शोचन्तस्ते पुरे नातिचिरं वासं कर्तुं शेकुः।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how even victorious heroes remain bound by human vulnerability: grief and filial concern. It implicitly points to the ethical weight of family responsibility and the impermanence of worldly stability after catastrophe.
Vaiśampāyana describes the Pāṇḍavas as deeply sorrowful; their anxiety and mourning for their aged mother becomes so consuming that they are unable to remain in the city for long.