Shloka 20
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Permission for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Forest-Retirement
शान्तो5स्मि वयसानेन तथा पुत्रविनाकृत: । उपवासकृश श्वास्मि गान्धारीसहितो5नघा:,“निष्पाप प्रजाजन! अब इस बुढ़ापेने गरधारीसहित मुझको बहुत थका दिया है। पुत्रोंके मारे जानेका दुःख भी बना ही रहता है तथा उपवास करनेके कारण भी हम दोनों अधिक दुर्बल हो गये हैं
śānto ’smi vayasānena tathā putravinākṛtaḥ | upavāsakṛśaś cāsmi gāndhārīsahito ’naghaḥ ||
外沙ṃ帕耶那说道：“我已为老迈所摧，又失却诸子。因持斋断食，我形容枯槁；并且——与甘达丽一道——我已衰弱不堪，噫，汝无垢者。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that even in a life of austerity and withdrawal, the consequences of attachment and loss remain; dharmic endurance lies in acknowledging grief and bodily decline without collapsing into resentment, meeting suffering with restraint and discipline.
In the Āśramavāsika context, the elder (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra, though the verse itself does not name him) speaks of being worn down by age, bereft of sons, and weakened by fasting, while living together with Gāndhārī in a renunciant mode.