युधिष्ठिर उवाच
नाहं वेद गतिं पित्रोर् भगवन्क्व गतावितः ।
अम्बा वा हतपुत्रार्ता क्व गता च तपस्विनी ॥ ३९ ॥
yudhisthirah uvaca-Maharaja Yudhisthira said; na-do not; aham-myself; veda-know it; gatim-departure; pitroh-of the uncles; bhagavan-O godly personality; kva-where; gatau-gone; itah-from this place; amba-mother aunt; va-either; hata-putra-bereft of her sons; arta-aggrieved; kva-where; gata-gone; ca-also; tapasvini-ascetic.
Maharaja Yudhisthira said: O godly personality, I do not know where my two uncles have gone. Nor can I find my ascetic aunt who is grief-stricken by the loss of all her sons.
Maharaja Yudhisthira, as a good soul and devotee of the Lord, was always conscious of the great loss of his aunt and her sufferings as an ascetic. An ascetic is never disturbed by all kinds of sufferings, and that makes him strong and determined on the path of spiritual progress. Queen Gandhari is a typical example of an ascetic by her marvelous character in many trying situations. She was an ideal woman as mother, wife and ascetic, and in the history of the world such character in a woman is rarely found.