Shloka 70

Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)

Devanagari script

समाश्चास्य च गान्धारीं धृतराष्ट्र च माधव:

Transliteration

samāścāsya ca gāndhārīṃ dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ ca mādhavaḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) too drew near and addressed Gāndhārī and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, speaking with them in the war’s aftermath—an act that sets royal grief and responsibility within the demands of dharma and restraint.

Word by Word

• समाः: equal (ones)
• समाः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

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

• अस्य: of him / his
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

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

• गान्धारीम्: Gandhārī
• गान्धारीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गान्धारी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• धृतराष्ट्रम्: Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• धृतराष्ट्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• माधवः: Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)
• माधवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Gāndhārī
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid irreversible loss, dharma requires approaching the grieving with composure and responsibility—seeking reconciliation, truthful counsel, and restraint rather than triumphalism or vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) goes to Gāndhārī and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, indicating a scene where he engages the bereaved Kuru elders after the devastation of the war.