Shloka 15
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Public Request for Consent to Enter the Forest (अनुज्ञा-प्रार्थना)
एवं स पुत्रपौत्राणां पितृणामात्मनस्तथा । गान्धार्याश्व महाराज प्रददावौर्ध्वदेहिकम्
evaṁ sa putrapautrāṇāṁ pitṝṇām ātmanaḥ tathā | gāndhāryāś ca mahārāja pradadāv aurdhvadehikam ||
毗舍摩耶那说：于是，伟大的王啊，他依礼为其子与孙、为列祖列宗、为自己，亦为甘陀梨，举行了亡后之仪（ūrdhva-dehika，即 śrāddha 等追荐供献）——以尽敬亡者、维系祖先秩序之达摩义务。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores pitṛ-dharma: the moral and ritual responsibility to honor the departed through prescribed offerings. Even amid loss and renunciation, one sustains social and cosmic continuity by remembering ancestors, family members, and fulfilling obligations without neglect.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Dhṛtarāṣṭra arranged and performed the aurdhvadehika rites—post-death offerings—for those connected to him: his sons and grandsons, his ancestors, himself (as a formal inclusion in the rite’s scope), and Gāndhārī, addressing the account to King Janamejaya.