Shloka 27
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
युधिष्ठिरभयादेति भृशं तप्यति पाण्डव: । भूमौ शये जप्यपरो दर्भेष्वजिनसंवृत:
yudhiṣṭhirabhayād eti bhṛśaṃ tapyati pāṇḍavaḥ | bhūmau śaye japyaparo darbheṣv ajinasaṃvṛtaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra nói: “Vì sợ Yudhiṣṭhira, người Pāṇḍava ấy bị dày vò sâu nặng. Ông nằm trên nền đất trần, chuyên chú tụng niệm và khổ hạnh, khoác da nai và nằm trên cỏ kuśa.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral psychology of post-war life: fear of righteous judgment and inner remorse can drive a person toward austerity, simplicity, and spiritual discipline (japa). Ethical accountability is portrayed not merely as external punishment but as an inward burning that seeks purification.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes a Pāṇḍava (as referred to in the passage) who, fearing Yudhiṣṭhira, is intensely distressed and has adopted an ascetic mode of living—lying on the ground upon darbha grass, covered with a deerskin, and devoted to recitation—signaling withdrawal from royal comforts into penitential practice.