Shloka 37
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
पुत्रशोकसमाविष्टा गान्धारी त्विदमब्रवीत् । श्वशुरं बद्धनयना देवी प्राज्जलिरुत्थिता,आँखोंपर पट्टी बाँधे गान्धारी देवी श्वशुरके सामने हाथ जोड़कर खड़ी हो गयीं और पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त होकर इस प्रकार बोलीं
putraśokasamāviṣṭā gāndhārī tvidam abravīt | śvaśuraṃ baddhanayanā devī prāñjalir utthitā ||
Overwhelmed by grief for her sons, Gandhārī spoke these words. The queen, her eyes bound with a cloth, rose and stood before her father-in-law with hands joined in reverence, and—burning with sorrow—began to address him.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in intense personal grief, Gandhārī maintains dharmic decorum—rising, approaching her elder (father-in-law), and speaking with folded hands—showing that reverence and self-restraint are upheld as ethical ideals amid suffering.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Gandhārī, still wearing her blindfold, stands before Dhṛtarāṣṭra with joined palms and begins to speak, driven by the anguish of losing her sons in the war’s aftermath.