Shloka 20
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
वीरसूभिम्महाराज हतपुत्राभिरावृतम् । क्वचिच्च वीरपत्नीभि्हतवीराभिरावृतम्,“महाराज! कहीं तो जिनके पुत्र मारे गये हैं उन वीरप्रसविनी माताओंसे और कहीं जिनके पति वीरगतिको प्राप्त हो गये हैं, उन वीरपत्नियोंसे यह युद्धस्थल घिर गया है
Vaiśampāyana uvāca |
Vīrasūbhir mahārāja hataputrābhir āvṛtam |
Kvacic ca vīrapatnībhiḥ hatavīrābhir āvṛtam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, the battlefield was enveloped—here by heroic mothers whose sons had been slain, and there by the wives of heroes whose husbands had met a warrior’s death.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical reality of war: beyond victory and defeat, the true measure of violence is seen in the suffering of innocents—mothers and wives who bear the irreversible loss. It implicitly warns that adharma and unchecked conflict culminate in collective grief.
In the Strī Parva’s post-war setting, Vaiśampāyana describes the battlefield as filled with bereaved women—some mothers whose sons have been killed and some wives whose husbands have fallen—conveying the mournful atmosphere after the Kurukṣetra slaughter.