Shloka 2

नारदेन धृतराष्ट्रगतिवर्णनम् | Nārada’s Account of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Future Course

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्र महाबाहो कच्चित्‌ ते वर्धते तप: । कच्चिन्मनस्ते प्रीणाति वनवासे नराधिप,“महाबाहु धृतराष्ट्र! तुम्हारी तपस्या बढ़ रही है न? नरेश्वर! वनवासमें तुम्हारा मन तो लगता है न?

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

dhṛtarāṣṭra mahābāho kaccit te vardhate tapaḥ |

kaccin manas te prīṇāti vanavāse narādhipa ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi Dhṛtarāṣṭra cánh tay hùng mạnh, khổ hạnh của ngài có thực sự ngày càng tăng trưởng chăng? Và hỡi bậc quân vương, tâm ngài có tìm được sự an nhiên trong đời sống ẩn cư nơi rừng này chăng?”

Word by Word

धृतराष्ट्रO Dhritarashtra

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

कच्चित्whether (I hope)

तेyour

वर्धतेgrows / increases

तपःausterity, penance

कच्चित्whether (I hope)

मनःmind

तेyour

प्रीणातिis pleased / delights

वनवासेin forest-dwelling, in exile in the forest

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic measure of post-royal life: true progress is seen in growing tapas (disciplined austerity) and in the mind’s contentment with renunciation, not merely in external change of place.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Āśramavāsika context, the elder Kuru king Dhṛtarāṣṭra has withdrawn to the forest. The speaker inquires respectfully whether his ascetic practice is advancing and whether he has mentally adapted to forest-dwelling.