Shloka 27

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिरभयादेति भृशं तप्यति पाण्डव: । भूमौ शये जप्यपरो दर्भेष्वजिनसंवृत:

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhirabhayād eti bhṛśaṃ tapyati pāṇḍavaḥ | bhūmau śaye japyaparo darbheṣv ajinasaṃvṛtaḥ ||

Translation

த்ருதராஷ்டிரன் கூறினான்—“யுதிஷ்டிரனின் அச்சத்தால் அந்தப் பாண்டவன் மிகுந்த வேதனையில் வாடுகிறான். வெறும் நிலத்திலே படுத்து, ஜபமும் தவமும் மேற்கொண்டு, மான் தோலைப் போர்த்திக் கொண்டு குசா புல்லின் மேல் தங்குகிறான்।”

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरभयात्from fear of Yudhiṣṭhira

एतिgoes/comes

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

तप्यतिis afflicted/suffers

पाण्डवःthe Pāṇḍava (one of the Pāṇḍavas)

भूमौon the ground

शयेlies down

जप्यपरःintent on muttering prayers (japa)

दर्भेषुon/among darbha-grass

अजिनसंवृतःcovered with a deer-skin

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

ध

धृतराष्ट्र (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

य

युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)

प

पाण्डव (Pāṇḍava)

द

दर्भ/कुश-घास (darbha/kuśa grass)

अ

अजिन (deerskin)

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 highlights the moral psychology of post-war life: fear of righteous judgment and inner remorse can drive a person toward austerity, simplicity, and spiritual discipline (japa). Ethical accountability is portrayed not merely as external punishment but as an inward burning that seeks purification.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes a Pāṇḍava (as referred to in the passage) who, fearing Yudhiṣṭhira, is intensely distressed and has adopted an ascetic mode of living—lying on the ground upon darbha grass, covered with a deerskin, and devoted to recitation—signaling withdrawal from royal comforts into penitential practice.