Shloka 46
Chapter 6: Dāruka’s Report; Arjuna Witnesses Dvārakā’s Desolation (दारुकवृत्तान्तः—अर्जुनस्य द्वारकादर्शनम्)
भ्रातन् पुत्रांश्व पौत्रांश्व दौहित्रान् ससखीनपि । महाबाहु बूढ़े वसुदेवजीने अपनी दोनों भुजाओंसे अर्जुनको खींचकर छातीसे लगा लिया और अपने समस्त पुत्रोंका स्मरण करके रोने लगे। फिर भाइयों, पुत्रों, पौत्रों, दौहित्रों और मित्रोंका भी याद करके अत्यन्त व्याकुल हो वे विलाप करने लगे
bhrātṝn putrāṁś ca pautrāṁś ca dauhitrān sa-sakhīn api | mahābāhuḥ vṛddho vasudevaḥ svābhyāṁ bhujābhyām arjunaṁ ākarṣya vakṣasi saṁśliṣya sva-sarva-putra-smaraṇena ruroda | tataḥ bhrātṝn putrān pautrān dauhitrān mitrāṇi ca smṛtvā atyanta-vyākulaḥ sa vilalāpa |
भ्रातॄन् पुत्रांश्च पौत्रांश्च दौहित्रान् ससखीनपि । स्मृत्वा महाबाहुः शोकात् परिदेवयत् ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional cost of conflict: even great lineages and heroes are brought low by loss. It points to the fragility of worldly bonds and the inevitability of sorrow when violence and time consume families, urging sobriety and detachment alongside dharma.
In the Mausala Parva’s aftermath, the elderly Vasudeva meets Arjuna, pulls him close, and weeps. Overwhelmed by memories of his sons and other relatives and companions, he laments intensely, embodying the collective mourning after the destruction of the Yādavas and the closing of an era.