अध्याय १५ (Āśramavāsika-parva): धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनवासानुज्ञायाचनम् — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s renewed plea for consent to forest-dwelling
वनाच्चापि किमानीता भवत्या बालका वयम् | दुःखशोकसमाविष्टौ माद्रीपुत्राविमौ तथा,“जब आपको वनमें ही जाना था, तब आप हमको और दु:ख-शोकमें डूबे हुए उन माद्रीकुमारोंको बाल्यावस्थामें वनसे नगरमें क्यों ले आयीं?
vanāc cāpi kim ānītā bhavatyā bālakā vayam | duḥkha-śoka-samāviṣṭau mādrī-putrāv imau tathā ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Kung sa huli’y sa gubat ka rin pala tutungo, bakit mo kami—na noo’y mga bata pa—dinala mula sa gubat patungo sa lungsod? At bakit mo rin dinala ang dalawang anak ni Mādrī na lubog sa dalamhati at pagdadalamhati?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights the ethical tension between worldly responsibility and renunciation: if one intends to withdraw to the forest, one should consider the consequences for dependents—especially children and the grief-stricken—before uprooting them from one life to another.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker questions a woman’s decision: since she ultimately chose the forest-life, why did she earlier bring the children (including Mādrī’s two sons) from the forest into the city during their vulnerable, sorrow-filled youth.