Shloka 25

स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च

Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse

Devanagari script

दशाहईकुलकी कन्या (श्रुतश्रवा)-के पुत्र शिशुपालका यह सत्यपराक्रमी वीर पुत्र रणभूमिमें सो रहा है और इसे अंकमें लेकर ये चेदिराजकी सुन्दरी रानियाँ रो रही हैं ।। अस्य पुत्र हृषीकेश सुवकत्रं चारुकुण्डलम्‌ । द्रोणेन समरे पश्य निकृतं बहुधा शरै:,इति श्रीमहाभारते स्त्रीपर्वणि स्त्रीविलापपर्वणि गान्धारीशापदाने पञ्चविंशो<5 ध्याय: इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत स्त्रीपर्वके अन्तर्गत स्त्रीविलापपर्वमें गान्धारीका शापदानविषयक पचीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | asya putra hṛṣīkeśa suvaktraṃ cārukuṇḍalam | droṇena samare paśya nikṛtaṃ bahudhā śaraiḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Hṛṣīkeśa, sieh: dieser Sohn von ihr, mit schönem Antlitz und zierlichen Ohrringen, ist im Kampf von Droṇa niedergestreckt worden, vielfach von Pfeilen durchbohrt.“

Word by Word

• अस्य: of this (one)
• अस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• पुत्रम्: son
• पुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हृषीकेश: O Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीकेश
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सुवक्त्रम्: having a beautiful face
• सुवक्त्रम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुवक्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• चारुकुण्डलम्: having lovely earrings
• चारुकुण्डलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चारुकुण्डल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• द्रोणेन: by Droṇa
• द्रोणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पश्य: see!
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular

• निकृतम्: cut down / slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + कृ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• बहुधा: in many ways; repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa)
• Droṇa
• Cedi (implied by ‘Cedirāja’ context)
• Cedi queens (implied in the surrounding prose)
• battlefield
• arrows
• earrings (kuṇḍala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical weight of war: even the noble and ornamented young—symbols of lineage and hope—are reduced to lifeless bodies. The lament frames victory as morally costly, reminding listeners that dharma in war is inseparable from compassion for the suffering it produces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana points out to Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa) a slain youth—‘her son’—killed by Droṇa and riddled with arrows. In the broader scene of Strīparvan, royal women (here, associated with Cedi) mourn over the dead on the battlefield, intensifying the atmosphere that leads into Gāndhārī’s grief and her curse.