Shloka 6
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Śrāddha Request and Bhīma’s Objection (Āśramavāsika-parva, Adhyāya 17)
पुत्रैश्चर्च महदिदमपास्य च महाफलम् | का नु गच्छेद् वन दुर्ग पुत्रानुत्सूज्य मूढवत्,पुत्रोंका महान् फलदायक यह महान् ऐश्वर्य छोड़कर और पुत्रोंका त्याग करके कौन नारी मूढ़की भाँति दुर्गम वनमें जायगी?
putraiś cārtha mahad idaṁ apāsya ca mahāphalam | kā nu gacched vana-durgaṁ putrān utsṛjya mūḍhavat ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Tatalikuran ang dakilang kasaganaan na ito—na nagbubunga nang sagana dahil sa mga anak—anong babae ang, gaya ng hangal, magpapabaya sa kanyang mga anak at tutungo sa gubat na mahirap daanan at mapanganib?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of familial responsibility: prosperity and meaningful worldly outcomes are closely tied to one’s children, so abandoning them for a harsh forest-life is portrayed as delusion rather than dharmic discernment.
Vaiśampāyana voices a rhetorical objection: he questions who would forsake great, son-associated prosperity and, abandoning her sons, go to a dangerous forest—framing such a choice as foolish and socially/ethically suspect.