Shloka 393
स्त्रीपर्व — अध्याय १५: गान्धारी-युधिष्ठिर-संवादः
Gandhārī’s Confrontation and Consolation of Yudhiṣṭhira
अभ्यगच्छत गान्धारीमार्तामार्ततरा स्वयम् । नरेश्वर! विशाल नेत्रोंवाली कुन्तीने शोकसे कातर हो रोती हुई द्रपदकुमारीको उठाकर धीरज बँधाया और उसके साथ ही वे स्वयं भी अत्यन्त आर्त होकर शोकाकुल गान्धारीके पास गयीं। उस समय उनके पुत्र पाण्डव भी उनके पीछे-पीछे गये
abhya-gacchata gāndhārīm ārtām ārta-tarā svayam | nareśvara! viśāla-netrā kuṃtī śokena kātarā rudatī drupada-kumārīm utthāpya dhairyaṃ baddhvā sahaiva svayam api atyantaṃ ārtā śokākulā gāndhārīṃ prati jagāma | tadā tasyaḥ putrāḥ pāṇḍavā api tasyāḥ paścāt paścāt jagmuḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Kuntī, the large-eyed queen, herself more distressed than the distressed, lifted up the weeping daughter of Drupada, consoled her, and then—overwhelmed by grief—went to the sorrow-stricken Gāndhārī. The Pāṇḍava sons followed behind her.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights compassionate duty amid catastrophe: Kuntī, though herself devastated, first supports Draupadī and then approaches Gāndhārī with shared mourning. It models ethical restraint and empathy beyond factional victory—recognizing that bereavement is universal after adharma-driven destruction.
In the Strī Parva’s mourning aftermath, Kuntī lifts and consoles the weeping Draupadī, then goes—deeply grief-stricken—to meet Gāndhārī. The Pāṇḍavas follow her, indicating a collective movement toward encounter and lamentation with the Kaurava queen.