Shloka 31
शून्येयं च मही कृत्स्ना न मे प्रीतिकरी शुभे | बान्धवा न: परिक्षीणा बल॑ नो न यथा पुरा,'शुभे! यह सारी पृथ्वी मेरे लिये सूनी हो गयी है; अतः इससे मुझे प्रसन्नता नहीं होती। हमारे सगे-सम्बन्धी नष्ट हो गये; अब हमारे पास पहलेकी तरह सैन्यबल भी नहीं है
śūnyeyaṃ ca mahī kṛtsnā na me prītikarī śubhe | bāndhavā naḥ parikṣīṇā balaṃ no na yathā purā ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi người cát tường, cả cõi đất này đối với ta đã hóa trống rỗng; nó chẳng còn đem lại niềm vui. Thân tộc của chúng ta đã hao mòn và bị diệt, và sức lực của chúng ta nay không còn như xưa.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly possession and political control cannot compensate for the ethical and emotional devastation caused by the destruction of one’s own people; when kinship networks and supporting strength collapse, the realm itself feels ‘empty,’ prompting dispassion and a turn away from triumphalism.
In the Ashramavāsika context, the speaker (through Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration) voices the bleak post-war condition: the land remains, but the community that gave it meaning—relatives and allies—has perished, and the former military power is gone, setting the stage for withdrawal to the forest and a life oriented toward austerity.