Shloka 24

धृतराष्ट्राश्रमगमनम् — The Pandavas’ Procession to Dhritarashtra’s Hermitage

Devanagari script

जगाम तदहश्चापि तेषां वर्षशतं यथा । निशां प्रतीक्षमाणानां दिदृक्षूणां मृतान्‌ नूपान्‌

Transliteration

jagāma tad ahaś cāpi teṣāṁ varṣaśataṁ yathā | niśāṁ pratīkṣamāṇānāṁ didṛkṣūṇāṁ mṛtān nṛpān ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说：那一日也终究过去了——然而在他们心中，却仿佛百年之久。因为众人伫立等待夜幕降临，渴望得见已逝诸王；在悲恸与期待的重压下，时光似被拉长，尽管白昼仍缓缓走向终了。

Word by Word

• जगाम: went; passed
• जगाम: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), perfect (narrative past), 3, singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: neuter, nominative/accusative, singular

• अहः: day
• अहः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन्
• Form: neuter, nominative/accusative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपि: also; even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• तेषाम्: of them; for them
• तेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, plural

• वर्षशतम्: a hundred years
• वर्षशतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष-शत
• Form: neuter, nominative/accusative, singular

• यथा: as if; like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• निशाम्: night
• निशाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निशा
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• प्रतीक्षमाणानाम्: of (those) waiting for
• प्रतीक्षमाणानाम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-ईक्ष्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), masculine, genitive, plural

• दिदृक्षूणाम्: of (those) desiring to see
• दिदृक्षूणाम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: उ (desiderative adjective/participle: 'wishing to see'), masculine, genitive, plural

• मृतान्: dead
• मृतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• नृपान्: kings
• नृपान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• nṛpāḥ (departed kings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment and sorrow distort the experience of time, underscoring impermanence: even as events inevitably move forward, the mind—burdened by grief and longing—makes a single day feel like an age.

What is happening in the narrative?

The people present are waiting for nightfall, eager to see the departed kings. Their anticipation and mourning make the day seem interminable, though it still passes.