Shloka 23
Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)
“अच्युत! दुर्योधनके मारे जानेपर वे सारे आघात सफल हो गये। श्रीकृष्ण! अब ऐसा कीजिये, जिससे वह सारा किया-कराया कार्य फिर नष्ट न हो जाय ।। संदेहदोलां प्राप्तं नश्लेत: कृष्ण जये सति । गान्धार्या हि महाबाहो क्रोधं बुद्धयसझ्व माधव,श्रीकृष्ण! आज विजय हो जानेपर भी हमारा मन संदेहके झूलापर झूल रहा है। महाबाहु माधव! आप गान्धारी देवीके क्रोधपर तो ध्यान दीजिये
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
acyuta! duryodhanake māre jāne para ve sāre āghāta saphala ho gaye | śrīkṛṣṇa! aba aisā kījiye, jisase vaha sārā kiyā-karāyā kārya phira naṣṭa na ho jāya ||
saṃdeha-dolāṃ prāptaṃ naśyeta kṛṣṇa jaye sati |
gāndhāryā hi mahābāho krodhaṃ buddhyasva mādhava ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Acyuta, seit Duryodhana erschlagen ist, haben all jene Schläge und Mühen Frucht getragen. O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, handle so, dass das vollbrachte Werk nicht abermals zugrunde geht. Selbst nach dem Sieg schwingt unser Geist noch am Pendel des Zweifels. O Mādhava mit mächtigen Armen, nimm dich der Wut der Königin Gāndhārī an.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory in war is not the end of moral and political responsibility. Even after a just outcome is achieved, leaders must anticipate the ethical and emotional repercussions—here, especially Gāndhārī’s grief-born anger—so that hard-won results are not undone by neglect, rashness, or unresolved resentment.
After Duryodhana’s fall, the speaker conveys an urgent appeal to Kṛṣṇa: the long struggle has finally succeeded, but the victors remain uneasy. They fear that Gāndhārī’s wrath, arising from her sons’ destruction, could bring new danger or reversal, so Kṛṣṇa is asked to manage the situation prudently.