Shloka 28
अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
चित्राड़दा ययौ चापि मणिपूरपुरं प्रति । शिष्टा: परिक्षितं त्वन्या मातर: पर्यवारयन्
citrāṅgadā yayau cāpi maṇipūrapuraṃ prati | śiṣṭāḥ parīkṣitaṃ tv anyā mātaraḥ paryavārayan, janamejaya | nāgarājakī kanyā ulūpī usī samaya gaṅgājīṃeṃ samā gayī | citrāṅgadā maṇipūra nagara meṃ calī gayī | tathā śeṣa mātāeṃ parīkṣit ko ghere hue pīche lauṭ āyīṃ
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: O Janamejaya, si Ulūpī—anak na babae ng hari ng mga Nāga—noon ding sandali ay naglaho at nakipag-isa sa ilog Gaṅgā. Umalis si Citrāṅgadā patungo sa lungsod ng Maṇipūra. Ang iba pang mga ina, na maingat at marangal na pumaligid kay Parīkṣit, ay nagbalik.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after a world-altering departure, dharma continues through orderly responsibility: elders ensure the protection and stability of the successor (Parīkṣit), while each person returns to their rightful sphere with dignity and restraint.
Ulūpī, the Nāga princess, disappears by merging into the Gaṅgā; Citrāṅgadā goes back to Maṇipūra; and the other mothers/elder women, keeping Parīkṣit at the center of their care, return—signaling the transition from the Pāṇḍavas’ era to Parīkṣit’s guardianship and rule.