Mahabharata 11.17.2 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 17, Shloka 2

Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)

Devanagari script

सातु लब्ध्वा पुनः संज्ञां विक्रुश्य च विलप्य च दुर्योधनमभिप्रेक्ष्य शयानं रुधिरोक्षितम्‌

Transliteration

sā tu labdhvā punaḥ saṃjñāṃ vikruśya ca vilapya ca duryodhanam abhiprekṣya śayānaṃ rudhirokṣitam

Translation

Als sie wieder zu sich kam, schrie sie auf und klagte immer wieder. Als sie Duryodhana dort liegen sah, vom Blut getränkt, umklammerte Gāndhārī—vom Kummer überwältigt—ihn in ihrem Herzen und weinte; ihre Sinne gerieten in Aufruhr, und sie jammerte: „Weh, mein Sohn! Weh, mein Sohn!“

Word by Word

• सा: she (Gāndhārī)
• सा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• लब्ध्वा: having regained/obtained
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active, same as main verb-subject

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• संज्ञाम्: consciousness/sense
• संज्ञाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संज्ञा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• विक्रुश्य: having cried out
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + क्रुश्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Active, same as main verb-subject

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विलप्य: having lamented
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + लप्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Active, same as main verb-subject

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दुर्योधनम्: Duryodhana
• दुर्योधनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अभिप्रेक्ष्य: having looked at/seeing
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + प्रेक्ष्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Active, same as main verb-subject

• शयानम्: lying (down)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शी (धातु) → शय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शानच् (present participle, parasmaipada sense), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• रुधिर-उक्षितम्: sprinkled/smeared with blood
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुधिर + उक्षित (उक्ष्)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Gāndhārī
• Duryodhana
• blood (rudhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the human cost of adharma and war: even royal power ends in vulnerability, and the consequences of choices culminate in irreversible grief. It underscores compassion and the ethical weight of conflict, where victory and defeat alike are shadowed by suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Gāndhārī regains consciousness, then repeatedly cries and laments as she beholds her son Duryodhana lying blood-soaked. Overwhelmed, she mourns intensely, calling out to him as her senses reel from sorrow.