Shloka 48
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
स तु दीर्घेण कालेन प्रत्याश्वस्तो नराधिप: । तूष्णीं दथ्यौ महीपाल: पुत्रव्यसनकर्शित:
sa tu dīrgheṇa kālena pratyāśvasto narādhipaḥ | tūṣṇīṃ dadhyau mahīpālaḥ putravyasanakarśitaḥ ||
ครั้นเวลาล่วงนาน พระราชาจึงพอทรงตั้งสติได้บ้าง แต่ด้วยความวิบัติแห่งโอรสที่บีบคั้น พระมหากษัตริย์ผู้ครองแผ่นดินก็นั่งนิ่ง เงียบงัน จมอยู่ในห้วงครุ่นคิดอันหนักหน่วง
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth often emphasized in the Mahābhārata: even those who bear public authority are not exempt from private sorrow. Composure may return with time, yet grief can still compel silence and inward reflection, reminding the listener of the human cost of conflict and attachment.
The narrator describes a king who, after a long interval, becomes somewhat steadied, but remains deeply afflicted by the disaster connected with his son. He does not speak; instead, he sits quietly, brooding and reflecting under the weight of that loss.