Shloka 42
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
यो5हं भवन्न्तं दुःखार्तमुपवासकृशं भूशम् । जिताहारं क्षितिशयं न विन्दे भ्रातृभि: सह
yo 'haṁ bhavantaṁ duḥkhārtaṁ upavāsa-kṛśaṁ bhūśam | jitāhāraṁ kṣitiśayaṁ na vinde bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ||
坚战说道：“我与诸弟一同寻觅，却未能找到您；那时您为忧苦所逼，因断食而消瘦，卧于裸地，并以严厉的节食自持。我竟未得知您的境况，本身便足以令我悔恨。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical responsibility toward elders and dependents: even a righteous king must remain vigilant to others’ suffering. It also frames fasting, restraint, and sleeping on the ground as marks of ascetic hardship that demand compassionate response rather than neglect.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses an honored person who has withdrawn into severe austerity—fasting, food-restraint, and sleeping on the earth—while burdened by grief. He laments that he and his brothers could not locate or learn of this condition in time.