ततः सर्वैर् महाबाहुर् भ्रातृभिः परिवारितः ॥
प्रविवेश गृहं राज्ञो धृतराष्ट्रस्य धीमतः ॥
ददर्श तत्र गान्धारीं देवीं पतिम् अनुव्रताम् ॥
स्नुषाभिः संवृतां शश्वत् ताराभिर् इव रोहिणीम् ॥
अभिवाद्य स गान्धारीं तया च प्रतिनन्दितः ॥
ददर्श पितरं वृद्धं प्रज्ञाचक्षुषम् ईश्वरम् ॥
राज्ञा मूर्धन्य् उपाघ्रातास् ते च कौरवनन्दनाः ॥
चत्वारः पाण्डवा राजन् भीमसेनपुरोगमाः ॥
tataḥ sarvair mahābāhur bhrātṛbhiḥ parivāritaḥ ||
praviveśa gṛhaṃ rājño dhṛtarāṣṭrasya dhīmataḥ ||
dadarśa tatra gāndhārīṃ devīṃ patim anuvratām ||
snuṣābhiḥ saṃvṛtāṃ śaśvat tārābhir iva rohiṇīm ||
abhivādya sa gāndhārīṃ tayā ca pratinanditaḥ ||
dadarśa pitaraṃ vṛddhaṃ prajñācakṣuṣam īśvaram ||
rājñā mūrdhany upāghrātās te ca kauravanandanāḥ ||
catvāraḥ pāṇḍavā rājan bhīmasenapurogamāḥ ||
Then, surrounded by all his brothers, the mighty-armed one entered the house of the wise king Dhritarashtra. There he beheld the goddess Gandhari, devoted to her husband, constantly surrounded by her daughters-in-law as Rohini is by the stars. Having greeted Gandhari and been greeted by her in turn, he beheld the aged father, whose eye was [only] wisdom, the lord. And the king smelled upon the crown of the head those descendants of Kuru -- the four Pandavas, O king, headed by Bhimasena.
744b7e9f5842 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:36 PM UTC
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The meeting is full of fatherly tenderness: the blind king "smells upon the crown of the head" his nephews as though they were his own sons. It is telling that the same hand now caressing them permitted the snares into which they will fall. The verse teaches how divided the heart of the weak can be: genuine love struggles within it against complicity with evil, and tenderness coexists with the toleration of ruin. Dhritarashtra loves the Pandavas -- and destroys them, lacking the will to restrain his son. Attachment without firmness is ruinous: affection unsupported by truth will not save the one embraced. Whoever caresses the one he betrays is doubly guilty before him; and the kiss of love is powerless where courage to avert disaster is lacking.