Narada Reports the Death of Dhritarashtra

Verse 1 (15.39.1)

तेषु चोपनिवृत्तेषु पाण्डवेषु यदृच्छया । देवर्षिर्नारदो राजन्नाजगाम युधिष्ठिरम् ॥

teṣu copanivṛtteṣu pāṇḍaveṣu yadṛcchayā | devarṣirnārado rājannājagāma yudhiṣṭhiram

When the Pandavas had returned, the divine sage Narada happened to come to Yudhishthira, O king.

Note on the text: Recension variant (CE 15.45.1: 'dvivarṣopanivṛtteṣu'); Wikisource reading kept.

Verse 2 (15.39.2)

तमभ्यर्च्य महाबाहुः कुरुराजो युधिष्ठिरः । आसीनं परिविश्वस्तं प्रोवाच वदतांवरः ॥

tamabhyarcya mahābāhuḥ kururājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | āsīnaṃ pariviśvastaṃ provāca vadatāṃvaraḥ

Honouring him, the mighty-armed Yudhishthira, king of the Kurus and best of speakers, addressed him as he sat at ease and trusting.

Verse 3 (15.39.3)

चिरात्तु नानुपश्यामि भगवन्तमुपस्थितम् । कच्चित्ते कुशलं विप्र शुभं वा प्रत्युपस्थितम् ॥

cirāttu nānupaśyāmi bhagavantamupasthitam | kaccitte kuśalaṃ vipra śubhaṃ vā pratyupasthitam

It is long since I have seen you present before me, venerable sir. Is it well with you, O brahmin, or has some good fortune come to you?

Note on the text: Speaker: Yudhishthira (direct speech to Narada; the page prints no heading after the opening Vaishampayana heading, and the input carried Vaishampayana).

Verse 4 (15.39.4)

के देशाः परिदृष्टास्ते किं च कार्यं करोमि ते । तद्ब्रूहि द्विजमुख्यस्त्वं ह्यस्माकं च प्रियोऽतिथिः ॥

ke deśāḥ paridṛṣṭāste kiṃ ca kāryaṃ karomi te | tadbrūhi dvijamukhyastvaṃ hyasmākaṃ ca priyo'tithiḥ

Which lands have you seen, and what can I do for you? Tell me, for you are foremost among brahmins and a guest dear to us.

Note on the text: Speaker: Yudhishthira (direct speech to Narada; the page prints no heading after the opening Vaishampayana heading, and the input carried Vaishampayana).

Verse 5 (15.39.5)

चिरदृष्टोसि मेऽत्येवमागतोऽहं तपोवनात् । परिदृष्टानि तीर्थानि गङ्गा चैव मया नृप ॥

ciradṛṣṭosi me'tyevamāgato'haṃ tapovanāt | paridṛṣṭāni tīrthāni gaṅgā caiva mayā nṛpa

It is long since I saw you, O king; I have come now from my forest hermitage. I have visited holy places, and the Ganga as well, O lord of men.

Verse 6 (15.39.6)

वदन्ति पुरुषा मेऽद्य गङ्गातीरनिवासिनः । धृतराष्ट्रं महात्मानमास्थितं परमं तपः ॥

vadanti puruṣā me'dya gaṅgātīranivāsinaḥ | dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ mahātmānamāsthitaṃ paramaṃ tapaḥ

Men who live on the banks of the Ganga tell me today that the great-souled Dhritarashtra has taken up the highest austerity.

Verse 7 (15.39.7)

अपि दृष्टस्त्वया तत्र कुशली स कुरूद्वहः । गान्धारी च पृथा चैव सूतपुत्रश्च संजयः ॥

api dṛṣṭastvayā tatra kuśalī sa kurūdvahaḥ | gāndhārī ca pṛthā caiva sūtaputraśca saṃjayaḥ

Did you see him there, that scion of the Kurus, in good health, and Gandhari, and Pritha, and Sanjaya, the charioteer's son?

Verse 8 (15.39.8)

कथं च वर्तते चाद्य पिता मम स पार्थिवः । श्रोतुमिच्छामि भगवन्यदि दृष्टस्त्वया नृपः ॥

kathaṃ ca vartate cādya pitā mama sa pārthivaḥ | śrotumicchāmi bhagavanyadi dṛṣṭastvayā nṛpaḥ

How does my father, that king, fare now? I wish to hear, venerable sir, if you have seen the king.

Verse 9 (15.39.9)

स्थिरीभूय महाराज शृणु वृत्तं यथातथम् । यथाश्रुतं च दृष्टं च मया तस्मिंस्तपोवने ॥

sthirībhūya mahārāja śṛṇu vṛttaṃ yathātatham | yathāśrutaṃ ca dṛṣṭaṃ ca mayā tasmiṃstapovane

Be steady, great king, and hear all of it just as it was, as I heard it and as I saw it in that forest hermitage.

Verse 10 (15.39.10)

वनवासनिवृत्तेषु भवत्सु कुरुनन्दन । कुरुक्षेत्रात्पिता तुभ्य गङ्गाद्वारं ययौ नृप ॥

vanavāsanivṛtteṣu bhavatsu kurunandana | kurukṣetrātpitā tubhya gaṅgādvāraṃ yayau nṛpa

When you had returned from your forest life, joy of the Kurus, your father went from Kurukshetra to Gangadvara, O king.

Verse 11 (15.39.11)

गान्धार्या सहितो धीमान्वध्वा कुन्त्या समन्वितः । संजयेन च सूतेन साग्निहोत्रः सयाजकः ॥

gāndhāryā sahito dhīmānvadhvā kuntyā samanvitaḥ | saṃjayena ca sūtena sāgnihotraḥ sayājakaḥ

The wise king went with Gandhari and with Kunti, his son's wife, and with Sanjaya the charioteer, bringing his sacred fires and his priests.

Verse 12 (15.39.12)

आतस्थे स तपस्तीव्रं पिता तव तपोधनः । अग्निं मुखे समाधाय वायुभक्षोऽभवन्मुनिः ॥

ātasthe sa tapastīvraṃ pitā tava tapodhanaḥ | agniṃ mukhe samādhāya vāyubhakṣo'bhavanmuniḥ

There your father, rich in austerity, undertook severe penance; placing the fire in his mouth, the sage lived on air alone.

Note on the text: Recension variant: CE 15.45.12 reads 'vīṭāṃ mukhe samādhāya' (a betel-roll / pebble placed in the mouth) in the second line, with an extra line 12b*0096_01; Wikisource 'अग्निं मुखे समाधाय' kept.

Verse 13 (15.39.13)

वने स मुनिभिः सर्वैः पूज्यमानो महातपाः । त्वगस्थिमात्रशेषः स षण्मासानभवन्नृपः ॥

vane sa munibhiḥ sarvaiḥ pūjyamāno mahātapāḥ | tvagasthimātraśeṣaḥ sa ṣaṇmāsānabhavannṛpaḥ

Honoured by all the sages in the forest, that king of great austerity was reduced to nothing but skin and bone in six months.

Verse 14 (15.39.14)

गान्धारी तु जलाहारी कुन्ती मासोपवासिनी । संजयः षष्ठभुक्तेन वर्तयामास भारत ॥

gāndhārī tu jalāhārī kuntī māsopavāsinī | saṃjayaḥ ṣaṣṭhabhuktena vartayāmāsa bhārata

Gandhari lived on water alone, Kunti fasted for a month at a time, and Sanjaya sustained himself by eating only at every sixth meal, O Bharata.

Verse 15 (15.39.15)

अग्नींस्तु याजकास्तत्र जुहुवुर्विधिवत्प्रभो । दृश्यतोऽदृश्यतश्चैव वने तस्मिन्नृपस्य वै ॥

agnīṃstu yājakāstatra juhuvurvidhivatprabho | dṛśyato'dṛśyataścaiva vane tasminnṛpasya vai

In that forest the priests duly made offerings into the fires, O lord, both when the king was present to see and when he was not.

Verse 16 (15.39.16)

अनिकेतोथ राजा स बभूव वनगोचरः । ते चापि सहिते देव्यौ संजयश्च तमन्वयुः ॥

aniketotha rājā sa babhūva vanagocaraḥ | te cāpi sahite devyau saṃjayaśca tamanvayuḥ

Then the king, homeless, became a wanderer of the forest, and the two queens together, and Sanjaya, followed him.

Verse 17 (15.39.17)

संजयो नृपतेर्नेता समेषु विषमेषु च । गान्धार्याश्च पृथा चैव चक्षुरासीदनिन्दिता ॥

saṃjayo nṛpaternetā sameṣu viṣameṣu ca | gāndhāryāśca pṛthā caiva cakṣurāsīdaninditā

Sanjaya was the king's guide over level and uneven ground alike, and the blameless Pritha was Gandhari's eyes.

Verse 18 (15.39.18)

ततः कदाचिद्गङ्गायाः कच्छे स नृपसत्तमः । गङ्गायामाप्लुतो धीमानाश्रमाभिमुखो ययौ ॥

tataḥ kadācidgaṅgāyāḥ kacche sa nṛpasattamaḥ | gaṅgāyāmāpluto dhīmānāśramābhimukho yayau

Then one day, on the bank of the Ganga, that best of kings, wise as he was, bathed in the Ganga and set out toward his hermitage.

Verse 19 (15.39.19)

अथ वायुः समुद्भुतो दावाग्निरभवन्महान् । ददाह तद्वनं सर्वं परिगृह्य समन्ततः ॥

atha vāyuḥ samudbhuto dāvāgnirabhavanmahān | dadāha tadvanaṃ sarvaṃ parigṛhya samantataḥ

Then a wind arose, and a great forest fire broke out; it burned that whole forest, enveloping it on every side.

Verse 20 (15.39.20)

दह्यत्सु मृगयूथेषु द्विजिह्वेषु समन्ततः । वराहाणां च यूथेषु संश्रयत्सु जलाशयान् ॥

dahyatsu mṛgayūtheṣu dvijihveṣu samantataḥ | varāhāṇāṃ ca yūtheṣu saṃśrayatsu jalāśayān

While herds of deer were burning on every side, and the serpents, and herds of boars were crowding into the pools of water,

Verse 21 (15.39.21)

सम्प्रदीप्ते वने तस्मिन्प्राप्ते व्यसन उत्तमे । निराहारतया राजा मन्दप्राणविचेष्टितः । असमर्थोऽपसरणे सुकृशे मातरौ च ते ॥

sampradīpte vane tasminprāpte vyasana uttame | nirāhāratayā rājā mandaprāṇaviceṣṭitaḥ | asamartho'pasaraṇe sukṛśe mātarau ca te

when that forest was ablaze and the supreme calamity had come, the king, weak from fasting and with faint breath and movement, was unable to get away, and so were your two very thin mothers.

Note on the text: Three-line verse; maps to CE 15.45.21a, c, e. Recension variant in the first line (CE 'samāviddhe vane tasmin'); kept.

Verse 22 (15.39.22)

ततः स नृपतिर्दृष्ट्वा वह्निमायान्तमन्तिकात् । इदमाह ततः सूतं संजयं जयतांवरः ॥

tataḥ sa nṛpatirdṛṣṭvā vahnimāyāntamantikāt | idamāha tataḥ sūtaṃ saṃjayaṃ jayatāṃvaraḥ

Then the king, seeing the fire approach from close by, said to Sanjaya the charioteer, best of victors, these words.

Note on the text: Recension variant in the second line (CE 'idam āha tataḥ sūtaṃ saṃjayaṃ pṛthivīpate'); kept.

Verse 23 (15.39.23)

गच्छ संजय यत्राग्निर्न त्वां दहति कर्हिचित् । वयमत्राग्निना युक्ता गमिष्यामः परां गतिम् ॥

gaccha saṃjaya yatrāgnirna tvāṃ dahati karhicit | vayamatrāgninā yuktā gamiṣyāmaḥ parāṃ gatim

Go, Sanjaya, to where the fire will not burn you. We, joined with the fire, shall go to the highest goal.

Note on the text: Speaker: Dhritarashtra (his direct speech inside Narada's account; input carried Narada).

Verse 24 (15.39.24)

तमुवाच किलोद्विग्नः संजयो वदतांवरः । राजन्मृत्युरनिष्टोऽयं भविता ते वृथाऽग्निना ॥

tamuvāca kilodvignaḥ saṃjayo vadatāṃvaraḥ | rājanmṛtyuraniṣṭo'yaṃ bhavitā te vṛthā'gninā

Then Sanjaya, best of speakers, deeply agitated, said to him: "O king, this death by fire will be unwelcome to you, and to no purpose."

Note on the text: Speaker kept as Narada (narrating); the second line is Sanjaya's speech.

Verse 25 (15.39.25)

न चोपायं प्रपश्यामि मोक्षणे जातवेदसः । यदत्रानन्तरं कार्यं तद्भवान्वक्तुमर्हति ॥

na copāyaṃ prapaśyāmi mokṣaṇe jātavedasaḥ | yadatrānantaraṃ kāryaṃ tadbhavānvaktumarhati

I see no means of rescuing us from the fire. Tell me, sir, what should be done next.

Note on the text: Speaker: Sanjaya (direct speech; input carried Narada).

Verse 26 (15.39.26)

इत्युक्तः संजयेनेदं पुनराह स पार्थिवः । नैष मृत्युरनिष्टो नो निःसृतानां गृहात्स्वयम् ॥

ityuktaḥ saṃjayenedaṃ punarāha sa pārthivaḥ | naiṣa mṛtyuraniṣṭo no niḥsṛtānāṃ gṛhātsvayam

Addressed thus by Sanjaya, the king answered again: "This death is not unwelcome to us, who have left our home of our own accord.

Note on the text: Speaker kept as Narada (narrating); the second line is Dhritarashtra's speech, which continues into the next verse (the opening quotation mark is closed there).

Verse 27 (15.39.27)

जलमग्निस्तथा वायुरथवाऽपि विकर्षणम् । तापसानां प्रशस्यं ते गच्छ संजय माचिरम् ॥

jalamagnistathā vāyurathavā'pi vikarṣaṇam | tāpasānāṃ praśasyaṃ te gaccha saṃjaya māciram

Water, fire, wind, or else fasting is commended for ascetics. Go, Sanjaya, without delay."

Note on the text: Corrected गच्च → गच्छ (misprint in Wikisource; 'ch' written as 'cc'; CE 'gaccha'). Speaker: Dhritarashtra (direct speech continuing from the previous verse; input carried Narada). CE reads 'praśasyante' for 'प्रशस्यं ते'; Wikisource reading kept.

Verse 28 (15.39.28)

इत्युक्त्वा संजयं राजा समाधाय मनस्तथा । प्राङ्मुखः सह गान्धार्या कुन्त्या चोपाविशत्तदा ॥

ityuktvā saṃjayaṃ rājā samādhāya manastathā | prāṅmukhaḥ saha gāndhāryā kuntyā copāviśattadā

Having said this to Sanjaya, the king collected his mind and sat facing east with Gandhari and Kunti.

Verse 29 (15.39.29)

संजयस्तं तथा दृष्ट्वा प्रदक्षिणमथाकरोत् । उवाच चैनं मेधावी युङ्क्ष्वात्मानमिति प्रभो ॥

saṃjayastaṃ tathā dṛṣṭvā pradakṣiṇamathākarot | uvāca cainaṃ medhāvī yuṅkṣvātmānamiti prabho

Seeing him so, Sanjaya circled him with his right side toward him, and the wise man said to him, "Fix yourself in yoga, my lord."

Verse 30 (15.39.30)

ऋषिपुत्रो मनीषी स राजा चक्रेऽस्य तद्वचः । सन्निरुध्येन्द्रियग्राममासीत्काष्ठोपमस्तदा ॥

ṛṣiputro manīṣī sa rājā cakre'sya tadvacaḥ | sannirudhyendriyagrāmamāsītkāṣṭhopamastadā

That wise king, a sage's son, did as he said; restraining the whole host of his senses, he became like a piece of wood.

Note on the text: Corrected राज → राजा (misprint in Wikisource; final ā dropped, 'राज' is not a nominative here; CE 'rājā').

Verse 31 (15.39.31)

गान्धारी च महाभागा जननी च पृथा तव । दावाग्निना समायुक्ते स च राजा पिता तव ॥

gāndhārī ca mahābhāgā jananī ca pṛthā tava | dāvāgninā samāyukte sa ca rājā pitā tava

Gandhari, the greatly fortunate, and your mother Pritha, and the king, your father, were enveloped by the forest fire.

Verse 32 (15.39.32)

संजयस्तु महाप्राज्ञस्तस्माद्दावादमुच्यत । गङ्गाकूले मया दृष्टस्तापसैः परिवारितः ॥

saṃjayastu mahāprājñastasmāddāvādamucyata | gaṅgākūle mayā dṛṣṭastāpasaiḥ parivāritaḥ

But Sanjaya, of great wisdom, escaped from that fire; I saw him on the bank of the Ganga, surrounded by ascetics.

Note on the text: Recension variant (CE 'mahāmātras' for 'महाप्राज्ञ'); kept.

Verse 33 (15.39.33)

स तानामन्त्र्य तेजस्वी निवेद्यैतच्च सर्वशः । प्रययौ संजयो धीमान्हिमवन्तं महीधरम् ॥

sa tānāmantrya tejasvī nivedyaitacca sarvaśaḥ | prayayau saṃjayo dhīmānhimavantaṃ mahīdharam

That radiant and wise Sanjaya, having taken leave of them and told them all this, departed for the Himalaya, the mountain.

Verse 34 (15.39.34)

एवं स निधनं प्राप्तः कुरुराजो महामनाः । गान्धारी च पृथा चैव जनन्यौ ते विशाम्पते ॥

evaṃ sa nidhanaṃ prāptaḥ kururājo mahāmanāḥ | gāndhārī ca pṛthā caiva jananyau te viśāmpate

Thus the great-souled king of the Kurus met his end, and Gandhari and Pritha too, your two mothers, O lord of men.

Verse 35 (15.39.35)

यदृच्छयाऽनुव्रजता मया राज्ञः कलेवरम् । तयोश्च देव्योरुभयोर्मया दृष्टानि भारत ॥

yadṛcchayā'nuvrajatā mayā rājñaḥ kalevaram | tayośca devyorubhayormayā dṛṣṭāni bhārata

Following along by chance, I saw the king's body and the bodies of both queens, O Bharata.

Verse 36 (15.39.36)

ततस्तपोवने तस्मिन्समाजग्मुस्तपोधनाः । श्रुत्वा राज्ञस्तदा निष्ठां न त्वशोचन्गतीश्च ते ॥

tatastapovane tasminsamājagmustapodhanāḥ | śrutvā rājñastadā niṣṭhāṃ na tvaśocangatīśca te

Then the ascetics gathered in that forest hermitage; hearing of the king's end, they did not grieve over the fate that was his.

Verse 37 (15.39.37)

तत्राश्रौषमहं सर्वमेतत्पुरुषसत्तम । यथा च नृपतिर्दग्धो देव्यौ ते चेति पाण्डव ॥

tatrāśrauṣamahaṃ sarvametatpuruṣasattama | yathā ca nṛpatirdagdho devyau te ceti pāṇḍava

There, best of men, I heard all of this, how the king and your two mothers were burned, O Pandava.

Verse 38 (15.39.38)

न शोचितव्यं राजेन्द्र स्वर्गस्थः पृथिवीपतिः । प्राप्तवानग्निसंयोगं गान्धारी जननी च ते ॥

na śocitavyaṃ rājendra svargasthaḥ pṛthivīpatiḥ | prāptavānagnisaṃyogaṃ gāndhārī jananī ca te

You should not grieve, best of kings: the lord of the earth has gone to heaven, having attained union with the fire, and so have Gandhari and your mother.

Note on the text: Recension variant (CE 'svantaḥ sa pṛthivīpatiḥ' for 'स्वर्गस्थः पृथिवीपतिः'); kept.

Verse 39 (15.39.39)

एतच्छ्रुत्वा च सर्वेषां पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् । निर्याणं धृतराष्ट्रस्य शोकः समभवन्महान् ॥

etacchrutvā ca sarveṣāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ mahātmanām | niryāṇaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya śokaḥ samabhavanmahān

On hearing this account of the passing of Dhritarashtra, great grief arose among all the great-souled Pandavas.

Verse 40 (15.39.40)

अन्तःपुराणां च तदा महानार्तस्वरोऽभवत् । पौराणां च महाराज श्रुत्वा राज्ञस्तदा गतिम् ॥

antaḥpurāṇāṃ ca tadā mahānārtasvaro'bhavat | paurāṇāṃ ca mahārāja śrutvā rājñastadā gatim

A great cry of anguish rose from the women's quarters, and from the townspeople too, O great king, when they heard of the king's fate.

Verse 41 (15.39.41)

अहो धिगिति राजा तु विक्रुश्य भृशदुःखितः । ऊर्ध्वबाहुः स्मरन्मातुः प्ररुरोद युधिष्ठिरः ॥

aho dhigiti rājā tu vikruśya bhṛśaduḥkhitaḥ | ūrdhvabāhuḥ smaranmātuḥ praruroda yudhiṣṭhiraḥ

Crying "Alas, shame!", the king Yudhishthira, deeply afflicted, raised his arms and wept, remembering his mother.

Note on the text: Maps to CE 15.45.41a, c. The input gave ce_ref null; the verse is in the CE (the unmatched CE verse 15.45.41 listed in the input is this one, a three-line verse split by Wikisource into two couplets).

Verse 42 (15.39.42)

भीमसेनपुरोगाश्च भ्रातरः सर्व एव ते । रुरुदुर्दुःखसंतप्ता वर्णयन्तः पृथां तदा ॥

bhīmasenapurogāśca bhrātaraḥ sarva eva te | rurudurduḥkhasaṃtaptā varṇayantaḥ pṛthāṃ tadā

And his brothers, Bhimasena and all the rest, wept, tormented by sorrow, recalling Pritha.

Note on the text: Removed a stray backtick before रुरुदुः (wiki mark). Line 1 is CE 15.45.41e; line 2 is the star passage 15.45.41f*0097_01 ('rurudur duḥkhasaṃtaptā varṇayantaḥ pṛthāṃ tadā'), which the vulgate has in the text.

Verse 43 (15.39.43)

अन्तःपुरेषु च तदा सुमहान्रुदितस्वनः । प्रादुरासीन्महाराज पृथां श्रुत्वा तथागताम् ॥

antaḥpureṣu ca tadā sumahānruditasvanaḥ | prādurāsīnmahārāja pṛthāṃ śrutvā tathāgatām

A great sound of weeping arose in the women's quarters, O great king, when they heard that Pritha had met such an end.

Verse 44 (15.39.44)

तं च वृद्धं तथा दग्धं हतपुत्रं नराधिपम् । अन्वशोचन्त ते सर्वे गान्धारीं च तपस्विनीम् ॥

taṃ ca vṛddhaṃ tathā dagdhaṃ hataputraṃ narādhipam | anvaśocanta te sarve gāndhārīṃ ca tapasvinīm

They all mourned the aged king, burned and bereft of his sons, and the ascetic Gandhari as well.

Verse 45 (15.39.45)

तस्मिन्नुपरते शब्दे मुहूर्तादिव भारत । निगृह्य बाष्पं धैर्येण धर्मराजोऽब्रवीदिदम् ॥

tasminnuparate śabde muhūrtādiva bhārata | nigṛhya bāṣpaṃ dhairyeṇa dharmarājo'bravīdidam

When that noise had died down, after a short while, O Bharata, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, holding back his tears with fortitude, said this.