Shloka 6
धृतराष्ट्रस्य क्षमायाचनं तथा युधिष्ठिरे न्यासदानम् / Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Request for Forgiveness and the Entrustment to Yudhiṣṭhira
ततो राजा प्राञ्जलिवेंपमानो युधिष्ठिर: सस्वरं बाष्पकण्ठ: । विमुच्योच्चैर्महानादं हि साधो क्व यास्यसीत्यपतत् तात भूमौ
tato rājā prāñjalir vepamāno yudhiṣṭhiraḥ sasvaraṃ bāṣpakaṇṭhaḥ | vimucyoccair mahānādaṃ hi sādho kva yāsyasīty apatat tāta bhūmau ||
Rồi vua Yudhiṣṭhira chắp tay mà run rẩy; tiếng nói nghẹn lại vì cổ họng đầy nước mắt. Ông bật lên một tiếng kêu đau đớn lớn, khóc không kìm được; và nói: “Ôi bậc cao quý! Người đi đâu mà bỏ con lại?” Rồi ông ngã sấp xuống đất.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human and ethical dimension of dharma: reverence for elders and dependence on moral guides. When those guides depart (often toward renunciation), even the most self-controlled ruler experiences grief, showing that righteousness includes sincere feeling and humility, not emotional hardness.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, trembling with folded hands and choked by tears, cries out loudly and collapses to the ground, pleading with a revered elder—addressed as “tāta” and “sādhu”—asking where he is going and why he is leaving.