Shloka 20
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Śrāddha Request and Bhīma’s Objection (Āśramavāsika-parva, Adhyāya 17)
गान्धार्या:संनिकर्षे तु निषसाद कुशे सुखम्
gāndhāryāḥ saṃnikarṣe tu niṣasāda kuśe sukham
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: Pagkaraan, sa malapit na tabi ni Gāndhārī, siya’y umupo nang maginhawa sa higaan ng damong kuśa—larawang nagpapahiwatig ng payak na pagtalima sa pag-aayuno at ng magalang na paglapit sa buhay-ashram sa gubat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic tone of āśrama-life: simplicity (a kuśa seat instead of luxury) and respectful closeness to elders, suggesting that dignity and composure can be maintained even amid grief and withdrawal from worldly power.
In the Ashramavāsika setting, the narrator describes someone (contextually, a principal elder in the forest-retirement episode) taking a seat on kuśa grass near Gāndhārī, indicating a quiet, austere moment of settling together in the hermitage environment.