Text 21]
Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home
687
come and go in which we have no hand, but we have to suffer or tolerate them without remedial measure. That is the result of time.
TEXT 21
पितृश्रावसुहृत्पुत्रा हतास्ते विगतं वयम् । आत्मा च जस्या ग्रस्तः परगेहमुपाससे ॥२१॥
pitṛ-bhrātṛ-suhṛt-putrā hatās te vigatam vayam ātmā ca jarayā grastaḥ para-geham upāsase
pitṛ-father; bhrātṛ-brother; suhṛt-well-wishers; putrāḥ-sons; hatāḥ-all dead; te-yours; vigatam-expended; vayam-age; ātmā-the body; ca-also; jarayā-by invalidity; grastaḥ-overcome; para-geham-another's home; upāsase-you do live.
TRANSLATION
Your father, brother, well-wishers and sons are all dead and passed away. You yourself have expended the major portion of your life, your body is now overtaken by invalidity, and you are living in the home of another.
PURPORT
The King is reminded of his precarious condition, influenced by cruel time, and by his past experience he should have been more intelligent to see what was going to happen to his own life. His father Vicitravīrya died long ago, when he and his younger brothers were all little children, and it was due to the care and kindness of Bhūṣmadeva that they were properly brought up. Then again his brother Pāṇḍu died also. Then in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra his one hundred sons and his grandsons all died, along with all other well-wishers like Bhūṣmadeva, Droṇācārya, Karṇa and many other kings and friends. So he had lost all men and money, and now he was living at the mercy of his nephew, whom he had put into troubles of various types. And despite all these reverses, he thought that he would prolong his life more and more. Vidura wanted to point out to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that everyone has to protect himself by his action and the grace of the Lord. One has to execute his duty faithfully depending for the result on the