Shloka 1

Devanagari script

#.००3८६>- हज है अष्टचत्वारिशर्दाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: कबूतरीका विलाप और अन्निमें प्रवेश तथा उन दोनोंको स्वर्गलोककी प्राप्ति भीष्म उवाच ततो गते शाकुनिके कपोती प्राह दुःखिता । संस्मृत्य सा च भर्तारें रुवती शोककर्शिता,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! उस बहेलियेके चले जानेपर कबूतरी अपने पतिका स्मरण करके शोकसे कातर हो उठी और दुःखमग्न हो रोती हुई विलाप करने लगी

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | tato gate śākunike kapotī prāha duḥkhitā | saṁsmṛtya sā ca bhartāraṁ ruvatī śokakarśitā ||

Translation

Bhishma said: When the fowler had gone away, the she-dove, overwhelmed with sorrow, began to lament. Remembering her husband, she wept, her body and mind worn down by grief.

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

उवाचsaid

ततःthen/from there

गतेwhen (he) had gone

शाकुनिकेthe fowler/hunter

कपोतीthe female pigeon

प्राहspoke/said

दुःखिताafflicted, sorrowful

संस्मृत्यhaving remembered

साshe

चand

भर्तारम्husband

रुवतीcrying, weeping

शोककर्शिताworn down by grief

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Yudhishthira

the fowler (śākunika)

the she-dove (kapotī)

the husband dove (bhartā)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse initiates an ethical exemplum: even in personal devastation, dharma expresses itself through steadfast loyalty, compassion, and the willingness to uphold relational duties. Grief is not denied, but it becomes the ground from which higher conduct and moral resolve emerge.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the fowler departs, the she-dove remembers her slain/captured mate and begins to lament aloud, crying in intense sorrow. This sets up the subsequent actions in the episode (her response to loss and the moral consequences that follow).