Devanagari
पतिं प्रयान्तं सुबलस्य पुत्री
पतिव्रता चानुजगाम साध्वी ।
हिमालयं न्यस्तदण्डप्रहर्षं
मनस्विनामिव सत्सम्प्रहार: ॥ ३० ॥
Verse text
patiṁ prayāntaṁ subalasya putrī
pati-vratā cānujagāma sādhvī
himālayaṁ nyasta-daṇḍa-praharṣaṁ
manasvinām iva sat samprahāraḥ
Synonyms
patim
—
her husband
;
prayāntam
—
while leaving home
;
subalasya
—
of King Subala
;
putrī
—
the worthy daughter
;
pati
—
vratā — devoted to her husband
;
ca
—
also
;
anujagāma
—
followed
;
sādhvī
—
the chaste
;
himālayam
—
towards the Himālaya Mountains
;
nyasta
—
daṇḍa — one who has accepted the rod of the renounced order
;
praharṣam
—
object of delight
;
manasvinām
—
of the great fighters
;
iva
—
like
;
sat
—
legitimate
;
samprahāraḥ
—
good lashing .
Translation
The gentle and chaste Gāndhārī, who was the daughter of King Subala of Kandahar [or Gāndhāra], followed her husband, seeing that he was going to the Himālaya Mountains, which are the delight of those who have accepted the staff of the renounced order like fighters who have accepted a good lashing from the enemy.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Chaste Gāndhārī, daughter of Subala, having good qualities and dedicated to her husband, followed him as he went to the Himālayas, which gives joy to those who have given up violence. She took the challenge like a warrior enjoying a good battle.
Purport
Saubalinī, or Gāndhārī, daughter of King Subala and wife of King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, was ideal as a wife devoted to her husband. The Vedic civilization especially prepares chaste and devoted wives, of whom Gāndhārī is one amongst many mentioned in history. Lakṣmījī Sītādevī was also a daughter of a great king, but she followed her husband, Lord Rāmacandra, into the forest. Similarly, as a woman Gāndhārī could have remained at home or at her father’s house, but as a chaste and gentle lady she followed her husband 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 Himālayas, 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.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Gāndhārī was the daughter of Subala. Sādhvī means “having good qualities.” How did she go to the Himālayas, which would give great hardship? Such sufferings are a cause of joy for those who have enthusiasm. An example is given. It is like a good (san) fight (samprahāraḥ) experienced by the warrior even if he is very young. Sat-samprahāram is also seen. The neuter case is poetic license. Amara-koṣa says samprahārābhisampāta-kali-saṁsphoṭa-saṁyugāḥ: samprahāra means war, quarrel, battle, conflict.