Vasiṣṭhāpavāha: Sarasvatī’s Diversion and Viśvāmitra’s Curse (वसिष्ठापवाहः)
तं तथा विलपन्तं तु शोकोपहतचेतसम् | दृष्टवा तस्य कृपा जज्ञे राष्ट्र तस्थ व्यमोचयत्
taṃ tathā vilapantaṃ tu śokopahatacetasaṃ | dṛṣṭvā tasya kṛpā jajñe rāṣṭraṃ tasthau vyamocayat | rājā dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ ||
เมื่อเห็นเขาคร่ำครวญเช่นนั้น จิตถูกโศกครอบงำ ความกรุณาก็บังเกิดขึ้นในใจ และเขาจึงปลดเปลื้องแว่นแคว้นนั้นให้พ้นจากวิกฤต
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Even amid the devastation of war, a ruler’s dharma includes responding to suffering with compassion; pity is not merely emotion but should translate into protective action that relieves the realm and its people from further harm.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that, upon seeing a person (contextually, one grieving intensely) lamenting with a mind crushed by sorrow, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra is moved to compassion and takes steps that ‘free the kingdom’—i.e., he grants relief from a pressing danger or crisis affecting the state.