प्रत्युद्ययुस् तं संप्राप्तं सर्वे भीष्मपुरोगमाः ॥
ते नदूरम् इवाध्वानं गत्वा नागपुरालयाः ॥
आवृतं ददृशुर् लोकं हृष्टा बहुविधैर् जनैः ॥
नानायानसमानीतै रत्नैर् उच्चावचैस् तथा ॥
हस्त्यश्वरथरत्नैश् च गोभिर् उष्ट्रैर् अथाविकैः ॥
नान्तं ददृशुर् आसाद्य भीष्मेण सह कौरवाः ॥
सो ऽभिवाद्य पितुः पादौ कौसल्यानन्दवर्धनः ॥
यथार्हं मानयाम् आस पौरजानपदान् अपि ॥
प्रमृद्य परराष्ट्राणि कृतार्थं पुनरागतम् ॥
पुत्रम् आसाद्य भीष्मस् तु हर्षाद् अश्रूण्य् अवर्तयत् ॥
स तूर्यशतसंघानां भेरीणां च महास्वनैः ॥
हर्षयन् सर्वशः पौरान् विवेश गजसाह्वयम् ॥
pratyudyayus taṃ saṃprāptaṃ sarve bhīṣmapurogamāḥ ||
te nadūram ivādhvānaṃ gatvā nāgapurālayāḥ ||
āvṛtaṃ dadṛśur lokaṃ hṛṣṭā bahuvidhair janaiḥ ||
nānāyānasamānītai ratnair uccāvacais tathā ||
hastyaśvaratharatnaiś ca gobhir uṣṭrair athāvikaiḥ ||
nāntaṃ dadṛśur āsādya bhīṣmeṇa saha kauravāḥ ||
so 'bhivādya pituḥ pādau kausalyānandavardhanaḥ ||
yathārhaṃ mānayām āsa paurajānapadān api ||
pramṛdya pararāṣṭrāṇi kṛtārthaṃ punarāgatam ||
putram āsādya bhīṣmas tu harṣād aśrūṇy avartayat ||
sa tūryaśatasaṃghānāṃ bherīṇāṃ ca mahāsvanaiḥ ||
harṣayan sarvaśaḥ paurān viveśa gajasāhvayam ||
"All, led by Bhishma, went forth to meet the one who had arrived; and the inhabitants of Hastinapura, having gone a not-too-distant way, joyful, saw the space filled with manifold people and with jewels of every kind brought on various carts — with the finest elephants, horses, chariots, and cows, camels, sheep; and the Kauravas together with Bhishma, drawing near, saw no end to it. Having bowed to the feet of his father, the increaser of Kausalya's joy, he honored, as was fitting, both the townsfolk and the country folk. Meeting his son, who had crushed foreign realms, attained his purpose and returned, Bhishma, from joy, shed tears. And amid the loud sounds of hundreds of trumpets and kettledrums, gladdening all the townsfolk, Pandu entered Hastinapura."
9987f5c6ac4f · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
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Here Pandu's triumphant return crowns his campaign. It is telling that the conqueror of the world, upon returning, first of all "bows to the feet of his father" and honors the townsfolk and villagers: the highest valor does not exalt itself, but humbles itself before elders and is gracious to the humble. Here is the true ornament of strength: humility — the higher the hero, the lower he bows before those to whom honor is due. Bhishma's tears are also telling: the stern warrior and ascetic weeps for joy, meeting the son he raised — love proving stronger than any austerity. Thus scripture reveals the fullness of the earthly triumph of the house of the Kurus; and this summit of well-being will become the threshold beyond which Pandu's fate will turn sharply — from the glory of a conqueror to renunciation and forest solitude.