Shloka 18
Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)
ततः कदाचिद् गड़ाया: कच्छे स नृपसत्तम: | गड़ायामाप्लुतो धीमानाश्रमाभिमुखो5भवत्
tataḥ kadācid gaḍāyāḥ kacche sa nṛpasattamaḥ | gaḍāyām āpluto dhīmān āśramābhimukho 'bhavat |
其后有一次，那位最上之王——睿智的持国王——来到伽陀河的沙岸，入水沐浴，浴毕便又朝林中精舍而行。此景昭示国王退隐后的清苦与自律：以简朴与克己为标志，而非王者之安逸。
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined simplicity in vānaprastha/retired life: even a former king follows austere routines (bathing, returning to the hermitage), suggesting purification, restraint, and acceptance of a life oriented toward inner order rather than power.
Nārada describes an incident where Dhṛtarāṣṭra goes to the Gaḍā riverbank, bathes by immersing in the water, and then walks back toward the hermitage—an ordinary but telling moment in his forest-dwelling routine.