Shloka 283
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
आगम्य मम पुत्रार्थे सर्वे मृत्युवशं गता: । अनेक देशोंके स्वामी महामनस्वी नरेश मेरे पुत्रकी सहायताके लिये आकर सब-के-सब मृत्युके अधीन हो गये
āgamya mama putrārthe sarve mṛtyuvaśaṃ gatāḥ | aneka-deśānāṃ svāmī mahāmanasvī nareśa mama putrasya sahāyatāyai āgatya sarve kevalaṃ mṛtyor adhīnā abhavan |
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Vì con trai ta mà đến, rốt cuộc tất cả đều rơi vào quyền lực của Tử thần. Những bậc quân vương đại tâm—chúa tể của nhiều cõi—đến trợ giúp con ta, nhưng không một ai ngoại lệ, đều trở thành kẻ thuộc về sự chết.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the greatest rulers, despite power and noble intent, cannot escape mortality; attachment to outcomes—such as fighting for a loved one’s cause—still ends under the universal law of death, urging humility and discernment in dharmic action.
The narrator reflects that many mighty kings from various regions came to aid the speaker’s son, but all of them ultimately perished—emphasizing the vast human cost and the inevitability of death that overtakes all participants.