The Pandavas Reach Dhritarashtra's Hermitage

Verse 1 (15.26.1)

ततस्ते पाण्डवा दूरादवतीर्य पदातयः । अभिजग्मुर्नरपतेराश्रमं विनयानताः ॥

tataste pāṇḍavā dūrādavatīrya padātayaḥ | abhijagmurnarapaterāśramaṃ vinayānatāḥ

Then the Pandavas got down while still far off and went on foot, bowed in humility, toward the king's hermitage.

Verse 2 (15.26.2)

स च योधजनः सर्वो ये च राष्ट्रनिवासिनः । स्त्रियश्च कुरुमुख्यानां पद्भिरेवान्वयुस्तदा ॥

sa ca yodhajanaḥ sarvo ye ca rāṣṭranivāsinaḥ | striyaśca kurumukhyānāṃ padbhirevānvayustadā

All the warriors, the people living in the realm, and the women of the leading Kuru houses likewise followed them on foot.

Note on the text: Recension variant: the critical edition (15.31.2) reads पौरजनः "townsfolk" where Wikisource has योधजनः "warriors".

Verse 3 (15.26.3)

आश्रमं ते ततो जग्मुर्धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवाः । शून्यं मृगगणाकीर्णं कदलीवनशोभितम् ॥

āśramaṃ te tato jagmurdhṛtarāṣṭrasya pāṇḍavāḥ | śūnyaṃ mṛgagaṇākīrṇaṃ kadalīvanaśobhitam

The Pandavas came to Dhritarashtra's hermitage, which was lonely, crowded with herds of deer, and graced by groves of plantain.

Verse 4 (15.26.4)

ततस्तत्र समाजग्मुस्तापसा नियतव्रताः । पाण्डवानागतान्द्रष्टुं कौतूहलसमन्विताः ॥

tatastatra samājagmustāpasā niyatavratāḥ | pāṇḍavānāgatāndraṣṭuṃ kautūhalasamanvitāḥ

Then ascetics of firm vows gathered there, full of curiosity, to see the Pandavas who had come.

Verse 5 (15.26.5)

तानपृच्छत्ततो राजा क्वासौ कौरववंशभृत् । पिता ज्येष्ठो गतोऽस्माकमिति बाष्पपरिप्लुतः ॥

tānapṛcchattato rājā kvāsau kauravavaṃśabhṛt | pitā jyeṣṭho gato'smākamiti bāṣpapariplutaḥ

The king, flooded with tears, asked them: "Where has that upholder of the Kaurava line, our elder father, gone?"

Verse 6 (15.26.6)

ते तमूचुस्ततो वाक्यं यमुनामवगाहितुम् । पुष्पाणामुदकुंभस्य चार्थे गत इति प्रभो ॥

te tamūcustato vākyaṃ yamunāmavagāhitum | puṣpāṇāmudakuṃbhasya cārthe gata iti prabho

They answered him: "He has gone, lord, to the Yamuna, to bathe and to fetch flowers and a pot of water."

Verse 7 (15.26.7)

तैराख्यातेन मार्गेण ततस्ते जग्मुरञ्जसा । ददृशुश्चाविदूरे तान्सर्वानथ पदातयः ॥

tairākhyātena mārgeṇa tataste jagmurañjasā | dadṛśuścāvidūre tānsarvānatha padātayaḥ

Going by the path they pointed out, the Pandavas hurried on, and before long, on foot, they saw all of them not far away.

Note on the text: Recension variant: Wikisource reads ततस्ते जग्मुरञ्जसा where the critical edition (15.31.7) has ततस्ते प्रययुस्तदा.

Verse 8 (15.26.8)

ततस्ते सत्वरा जग्मुः पितुर्दर्शनकाङ्क्षिणः । सहदेवस्तु वेगेन प्राधावद्यत्र सा पृथा ॥

tataste satvarā jagmuḥ piturdarśanakāṅkṣiṇaḥ | sahadevastu vegena prādhāvadyatra sā pṛthā

Then, eager to see their father, they went swiftly on, and Sahadeva ran at full speed to where Kunti was.

Note on the text: Corrected वितुर् → पितुर् (misprint in Wikisource; व for प; the sense is "of their father", and the critical edition reads pitur).

Verse 9 (15.26.9)

सुस्वरं रुरुदे धीमान्मातुः पादावुपस्पृशन् । सा च बाष्पाकुलमुखी ददर्श दयितं सुतम् ॥

susvaraṃ rurude dhīmānmātuḥ pādāvupaspṛśan | sā ca bāṣpākulamukhī dadarśa dayitaṃ sutam

The wise Sahadeva wept aloud as he touched his mother's feet, and she, her face full of tears, looked upon her beloved son.

Note on the text: Corrected ददर्शक → ददर्श (misprint in Wikisource; stray क; the line is a syllable too long with it, and the critical edition reads pradadarśa). First line differs from critical edition 15.31.9a (सस्वनं प्ररुदन्) as a recension variant.

Verse 10 (15.26.10)

बाहुभ्यां सम्परिष्वज्य समुन्नाम्य च पुत्रकम् । गान्धार्याः कथयामास सहदेवमुपस्थितम् ॥

bāhubhyāṃ sampariṣvajya samunnāmya ca putrakam | gāndhāryāḥ kathayāmāsa sahadevamupasthitam

Embracing him with both arms and lifting up her son, she told Gandhari that Sahadeva had arrived.

Note on the text: Corrected सहद्रेवमु → सहदेवमु (misprint in Wikisource; stray र; Sahadeva is meant and the critical edition reads sahadevam).

Verse 11 (15.26.11)

अनन्तरं च राजानं भीमसेनमथार्जुनम् । नकुलं च पृथा दृष्ट्वा त्वरमाणोपचक्रमे ॥

anantaraṃ ca rājānaṃ bhīmasenamathārjunam | nakulaṃ ca pṛthā dṛṣṭvā tvaramāṇopacakrame

And then, seeing King Yudhishthira, Bhimasena, Arjuna and Nakula, Kunti set out toward them in haste.

Verse 12 (15.26.12)

सा ह्यग्रे गच्छति तयोर्दपत्योर्हतपुत्रयोः । कर्षन्ती तौ ततस्ते तां दृष्ट्वा संन्यपतन्भुवि । तयोस्तु पादयो राजन्न्यपतन्हतपुत्रयोः ॥

sā hyagre gacchati tayordapatyorhataputrayoḥ | karṣantī tau tataste tāṃ dṛṣṭvā saṃnyapatanbhuvi | tayostu pādayo rājannyapatanhataputrayoḥ

She walked in front of that couple bereft of their sons, drawing the two along; and when the Pandavas saw her, they dropped to the ground. They fell, O king, at the feet of those two, bereft of their sons.

Note on the text: Wikisource prints the third line (तयोस्तु पादयो …) in quotation marks and backticks as an insertion; the wiki marks are removed and the line kept. It is the star passage 15.31.12d*0050_01 of the critical edition; the first two lines are critical edition 15.31.12ac (the first in a variant tense, गच्छति for अगच्छत).

Verse 13 (15.26.13)

राजा तान्स्वरयोगेन स्पर्शेन च महामनाः । प्रत्यभिज्ञाय मेधावी समाश्वासयत प्रभुः ॥

rājā tānsvarayogena sparśena ca mahāmanāḥ | pratyabhijñāya medhāvī samāśvāsayata prabhuḥ

The great-minded king, recognising them by their voices and by touch, the wise lord comforted them.

Note on the text: First line is a recension variant of critical edition 15.31.13a (Wikisource has राजा तान्, the critical edition तान् राजा, a different word order).

Verse 14 (15.26.14)

ततस्ते बाष्पमुत्सृज्य गान्धारीसहितं नृपम् । उपतस्थुर्महात्मानो मातरं च यथाविधि ॥

tataste bāṣpamutsṛjya gāndhārīsahitaṃ nṛpam | upatasthurmahātmāno mātaraṃ ca yathāvidhi

Then the great-souled brothers, shedding tears, duly paid their respects to the king together with Gandhari, and to their mother.

Verse 15 (15.26.15)

सर्वेषां तोयकलशाञ्जगृहुस्ते स्वयं तदा । पाण्डवा लब्धसंज्ञास्ते मात्रा चाश्वासिताः पुनः ॥

sarveṣāṃ toyakalaśāñjagṛhuste svayaṃ tadā | pāṇḍavā labdhasaṃjñāste mātrā cāśvāsitāḥ punaḥ

They themselves then took up the water pots of all the elders; and the Pandavas, their senses regained, were comforted once more by their mother.

Verse 16 (15.26.16)

तथा नार्यो नृसिंहानां सोऽवरोधजनस्तदा । पौरजानपदाश्चैव ददृशुस्तं जनाधिपम् ॥

tathā nāryo nṛsiṃhānāṃ so'varodhajanastadā | paurajānapadāścaiva dadṛśustaṃ janādhipam

Likewise the women of those lions among men, the household of the royal ladies, and the townsfolk and country folk beheld that lord of the people.

Note on the text: Differs from critical edition 15.31.16 as a recension variant (तथा for ततो; सोऽवरोधजनः for स च योधजनः; जनाधिपम् for नराधिपम्).

Verse 17 (15.26.17)

निवेदयामास तदा जनं तन्नामगोत्रतः । युधिष्ठिरो नरपतिः स चैनं प्रत्यपूजयत् ॥

nivedayāmāsa tadā janaṃ tannāmagotrataḥ | yudhiṣṭhiro narapatiḥ sa cainaṃ pratyapūjayat

Then Yudhishthira the king presented the people to him by name and family, and the old king honoured them in return.

Verse 18 (15.26.18)

स तैः परिवृतो मेने हर्षबाष्पाविलेक्षणः । राजाऽऽत्मानं गृहगतं पुरेव गजसाह्वये ॥

sa taiḥ parivṛto mene harṣabāṣpāvilekṣaṇaḥ | rājā''tmānaṃ gṛhagataṃ pureva gajasāhvaye

Surrounded by them, his eyes clouded with tears of joy, the king felt as if he were at home in Hastinapura.

Note on the text: Corrected पुरेवि → पुरेव (misprint in Wikisource; stray ि; the word is the particle पुरा + इव "as before", and the critical edition reads pureva).

Verse 19 (15.26.19)

अभिवादितो वधूभिश्च कृष्णाद्याभिः स पार्थिवः । गान्धार्या सहितो धीमान्कुन्त्या च प्रत्यनन्दत ॥

abhivādito vadhūbhiśca kṛṣṇādyābhiḥ sa pārthivaḥ | gāndhāryā sahito dhīmānkuntyā ca pratyanandata

Greeted by his daughters-in-law, with Krishna (Draupadi) at their head, the wise king rejoiced together with Gandhari and Kunti.

Verse 20 (15.26.20)

ततश्चाश्रममागच्छत्सिद्धचारणसेवितम् । दिदृक्षुभिः समाकीर्णं नभस्तारागणैरिव ॥

tataścāśramamāgacchatsiddhacāraṇasevitam | didṛkṣubhiḥ samākīrṇaṃ nabhastārāgaṇairiva

Then he came to the hermitage, which was attended by Siddhas and Charanas and crowded with people eager to see him, like the sky with hosts of stars.