Shloka 8
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्षमायाचनं तथा युधिष्ठिरे न्यासदानम् / Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Request for Forgiveness and the Entrustment to Yudhiṣṭhira
वृकोदर: फाल्गुनश्चैव वीरौ माद्रीपुत्रौ विदुरः संजयश्च । वैश्यापुत्र: सहितो गौतमेन धौम्यो विदप्राश्चान्वयुर्बाष्पकण्ठा:
vaśiṣṭha uvāca
vṛkodaraḥ phālgunaś caiva vīrau mādrīputrau viduraḥ saṃjayaś ca | vaiśyāputraḥ sahito gautamena dhaumyo dvijaprāś cānvayur bāṣpakaṇṭhāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sumunod sa kanila sina Bhīma (Vṛkodara) at Arjuna (Phālguna), ang dalawang magiting na anak ni Mādrī (Nakula at Sahadeva), sina Vidura at Sañjaya, at si Yuyutsu—ang anak ng isang babaeng Vaiśya—kasama si Gautama (Kṛpa), si Dhaumya, at marami pang brāhmaṇa; ang kanilang mga lalamunan ay nababara ng luha. (Sa nagpapatuloy na tagpo) Si Kuntī ang nauuna, hawak ang kamay ni Gāndhārī na nakapiring, at iniaangat iyon na nakapatong sa kanyang balikat; sa likod niya ay si Gāndhārī na nakapiring, at si Haring Dhṛtarāṣṭra, na nakapatong ang kamay sa balikat ni Gāndhārī, ay lumalakad nang payapa at may tiwala.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma expressed as compassionate accompaniment and reverence toward elders even after devastating conflict: the victors do not abandon the aged and afflicted; instead they follow them with humility and shared grief, acknowledging moral responsibility beyond political outcomes.
As Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Gāndhārī, and Kuntī proceed toward forest life, the principal Pāṇḍavas and respected elders—Vidura, Sañjaya, Yuyutsu, Kṛpa, Dhaumya, and many brāhmaṇas—walk behind them, overcome with emotion, indicating a solemn departure from royal life into renunciation.