Shloka 123
धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति व्यवहार-रक्षा-नियमनोपदेशः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Instruction on Administration, Punishment, and Daily Governance
परैर्विनिहतामात्यो वनं गन्तुमभीप्सति । “एक दिन जो सम्पूर्ण भूमण्डलका भरण-पोषण करनेवाले नरेश थे, उनके सारे मन्त्री और सहायक शत्रुओंद्वारा मार डाले गये और आज वे वनमें जाना चाहते हैं
parair vinihatāmātyo vanaṃ gantum abhīpsati |
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: “Bagaman pinaslang ng mga kaaway ang kaniyang mga ministro, ngayo’y nananabik siyang tumungo sa gubat. Dati’y siya ang haring nagtataguyod sa buong bilog ng daigdig; ngayon, salat sa mga tagapayo at tagasuporta, hinahanap niya ang mahigpit na kanlungan ng kagubatan—larawan ng paghaharing binaligtad ng digmaan, at ng isang pinunong tumatalikod sa kapangyarihan upang tahakin ang pagtalikod sa daigdig.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly power and its supports—ministers, allies, and prosperity—are fragile; when they collapse, a ruler may be called to seek a higher dharma through restraint and renunciation. The verse underscores impermanence and the ethical turn from domination to self-discipline.
The narrator describes a king whose ministers have been killed by enemies; despite having once sustained the realm, he now wishes to go to the forest, signaling a transition from royal life to an ascetic, withdrawn mode of living in the post-war aftermath.