Shloka 36
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
राजेन्द्र! वैश्यको एक वर माँगनेका अधिकार बताया गया है, क्षत्रियकी स्त्री दो वर माँग सकती है, क्षत्रियको तीन वर तथा ब्राह्मणको सौ वर लेनेका अधिकार है ।। पापीयांस इमे भूत्वा संतीर्णा: पतयो मम । वेत्स्यन्ति चैव भद्राणि राजन् पुण्येन कर्मणा,राजन! ये मेरे पति दासभावको प्राप्त होकर भारी विपत्तिमें फँस गये थे। अब उससे पार हो गये। इसके बाद पुण्यकर्मोंके अनुष्ठानद्वारा ये लोग स्वयं कल्याण प्राप्त कर लेंगे
rājendra! vaiśyako eka vara māṅgane kā adhikāra batāyā gayā hai, kṣatriyakī strī do vara māṅg saktī hai, kṣatriyako tīna vara tathā brāhmaṇako śata vara lenekā adhikāra hai. pāpīyāṃsa ime bhūtvā saṃtīrṇāḥ patayo mama. vetsyanti caiva bhadrāṇi rājan puṇyena karmaṇā.
持国王说道：“王中之最啊，典章宣示：吠舍有权求一愿；刹帝利之妻可求两愿；刹帝利可求三愿；婆罗门则可求百愿。大王啊，那些曾因沦为奴役而堕落、陷入沉重灾厄的我的夫君们，如今已渡过此难。此后，他们将以修行功德之业，自得其安与福祉。”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ‘boon-taking’ as regulated by social-ethical norms (varṇa/role-based entitlement) and then pivots to a moral claim: those who have escaped a degrading crisis should pursue auspicious welfare through meritorious action (puṇya-karma), implying that recovery is completed by ethical conduct, not merely by release from danger.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a king and cites a rule about how many boons different persons may request. He then reflects that his own ‘lords’ (contextually his sons/kinsmen) who had fallen into servitude and severe distress have now crossed that peril, and he expresses confidence that they will secure well-being through subsequent virtuous deeds.