Shloka 686
Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)
पुत्रशोकाभिसंतप्ता गान्धारी प्ररुरोद ह | इतनी बात कहकर पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त हुई गान्धारी देवी अपने मुखको आँचलसे ढककर फूट-फूटकर रोने लगीं
putraśokābhisaṃtaptā gāndhārī praruroda ha |
Scorched by the grief of losing her sons, Gāndhārī broke down in tears. After those words were spoken, she covered her face with her veil and wept uncontrollably.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war and the inevitable suffering that follows collective wrongdoing: even royal power cannot shield one from the karmic and emotional consequences of adharma, especially as seen in a mother’s grief.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Gāndhārī, stricken by sorrow for her sons, breaks into intense weeping, marking a moment of raw lamentation in the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra devastation.