Shloka 39
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
कुर्वन्ति च चितामेते जटिला ब्रह्म॒चारिण: । भनुर्भि: शक्तिभिश्वैव रथनीडैश्व माधव
kurvanti ca citām ete jaṭilā brahmacāriṇaḥ | dhanurbhiḥ śaktibhiś caiva rathanīḍaiś ca mādhava ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Auch diese asketischen Brahmacārins mit verfilzten Haarflechten bereiten den Scheiterhaufen – mit Bögen, mit Speeren und sogar mit Ausrüstung von Streitwagen, o Mādhava.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even those committed to ascetic restraint and religious discipline must sometimes engage with harsh realities to uphold dharma—here, ensuring proper rites for the dead. The verse highlights the ethical necessity of restoring dignity and order after violence, while also showing how war’s instruments linger even in ritual contexts.
Vaiśampāyana describes groups of matted-haired brahmacārins preparing funeral pyres in the war’s aftermath. They are depicted as carrying weapons and associated with chariot arrangements, suggesting the scale, danger, or organized nature of the scene as cremation duties proceed amid a still-militarized environment.