कारयन्तु च कुल्यानि शुभ्राणि च महान्ति च ॥
ये च तत्र मृतास् तेषां सुहृदो ऽर्चन्तु तान् अपि ॥
एवंगते मया शक्यं यद् यत् कारयितुं हितम् ॥
पाण्डवानां च कुन्त्याश् च तत् सर्वं क्रियतां धनैः ॥
एवम् उक्त्वा ततश् चक्रे ज्ञातिभिः परिवारितः ॥
उदकं पाण्डुपुत्राणां धृतराष्ट्रो ऽम्बिकासुतः ॥
kārayantu ca kulyāni śubhrāṇi ca mahānti ca ||
ye ca tatra mṛtās teṣāṃ suhṛdo 'rcantu tān api ||
evaṃgate mayā śakyaṃ yad yat kārayituṃ hitam ||
pāṇḍavānāṃ ca kuntyāś ca tat sarvaṃ kriyatāṃ dhanaiḥ ||
evam uktvā tataś cakre jñātibhiḥ parivāritaḥ ||
udakaṃ pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭro 'mbikāsutaḥ ||
'"And let them perform funeral rites, splendid and grand; and let the friends of those who died there be honored as well. Whatever good I am able to order done for the Pandavas and Kunti — let all of it be done at my expense." Having said this, surrounded by his kinsmen, Dhritarashtra, son of Ambika, performed the water-libation for the sons of Pandu.'
0c0bd2276c47 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:03:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here hypocrisy clothes itself in the pomp of rites. It is telling that Dhritarashtra spares no expense on funeral honors and gifts for those whose destruction he himself abetted: display of generosity is meant both to silence conscience and to divert suspicion. In this lies the futility of outward piety without purity of heart: rites and gifts performed by the guilty over their own victims do not purify but only expose. It is telling that he also performs the water-libation — the sacred duty owed to the dead: but a rite performed by a murderer over the living (who are only supposed dead) turns into empty theater. Thus scripture shows that piety without truth of heart is a mask; and Dhritarashtra's lavish tears only throw into relief the impurity of his complicity.