Text 31]
Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home
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without consideration. Instructions for the renounced order of life were imparted to Dhṛtarāṣṭra by Vidura, and Gāndhārī was by the side of her husband. But he did not ask her to follow him because he was at that time fully determined, like a great warrior who faces all kinds of dangers in the battlefield. He was no longer attracted to so-called wife or relatives, and he decided to start alone, but as a chaste lady Gāndhārī decided to follow her husband till the last moment. Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra accepted the order of  vānaprastha , and at this stage the wife is allowed to remain as a voluntary servitor, but in the  sannyāsa  stage no wife can stay with her former husband. A  sannyāsī  is considered to be a dead man civilly, and therefore the wife becomes a civil widow without connection with her former husband. Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not deny his faithful wife, and she followed her husband at her own risk.
The  sannyāsīs  accept a rod as the sign of the renounced order of life. There are two types of  sannyāsīs . Those who follow the Māyāvādī philosophy, headed by Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, accept only one rod ( eka-daṇḍa ), but those who follow the Vaiṣṇavite philosophy accept three combined rods ( tri-daṇḍa ). The Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs  are  ekadaṇḍi-svāmīs , whereas the Vaiṣṇava  sannyāsīs  are known as  tridaṇḍi-svāmīs , or more distinctly,  tridaṇḍi gosvāmīs , in order to be distinguished from the Māyāvādī philosophers. The  ekadaṇḍi svāmīs  are mostly fond of the Himalayas, but the Vaiṣṇava  sannyāsīs  are fond of Vṛndāvana and Purī. The Vaiṣṇava  sannyāsīs  are  narottamas , whereas the Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs  are  dhīras . Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra was advised to follow the  dhīras  because at that stage it was difficult for him to become a  narottama .
TEXT 31
अज्ञातशत्रुः कृतमैत्रो हुताग्नि- 
  विंशान् नत्वा तिलगोभूमिरुक्मैः । 
  गृहं प्रविष्टो गुरुवन्दनाय 
  न चापश्यत्पितरौ सौबलीं च ॥३१॥
ajāta-śatruḥ kṛta-maitro hutāgnir 
  viprān natvā tila-go-bhūmi-rukmaiḥ 
  gṛhaṁ praviṣṭo guru-vandanāya 
  na cāpaśyat pitarau saubalīṁ ca