Shloka 18
Kuntī’s Retrospective Uddharṣaṇa and Renunciatory Resolve (कुन्त्युद्धर्षण-प्रत्याख्यानम्)
स तै: परिवृतो मेने हर्षबाष्पाविलेक्षण: । राजा55त्मानं गृहगतं पुरेव गजसाह्नये
sa taiḥ parivṛto mene harṣabāṣpāvilokṣaṇaḥ | rājā dhṛtarāṣṭra ātmānaṃ gṛhagatam pureva gajasāhnaye ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：众人环绕之中，持国王眼含喜泪，泪光迷蒙；他恍惚以为自己如同往昔归家一般，又坐回了哈斯提那补罗的王宫之中。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after the collapse of worldly power, the mind may cling to comforting images of former status and home. The verse implicitly warns that unresolved attachment can obscure clear ethical reckoning, and that true peace requires inner detachment rather than reliance on nostalgic self-deception.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra is surrounded by companions and becomes overwhelmed with joy, shedding tears. In that moment he imagines himself back in the old days, as if he were again at home in Hastināpura’s royal palace, within the palace precinct associated with the elephant-yard.