Shloka 48
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
“एक-दूसरीकी रोदन-ध्वनिसे मिल जानेके कारण इनके विलापका अर्थ पूर्णरूपसे समझमें नहीं आता, उसे सुनकर अन्य स्त्रियाँ भी कुछ नहीं समझ पाती हैं ।। एता दीर्घमिवोच्छवस्य विक्रुश्य च विलप्य च । विस्पन्दमाना दु:ःखेन वीरा जहति जीवितम्,'ये वीर वनिताएँ लंबी साँस खींचकर स्वजनोंको पुकार-पुकारकर करुण विलाप करके दुःखसे छटपटाती हुई अपने प्राण त्याग देना चाहती हैं
ekadūṣarīkī rodanadhvanise milajāneke kāraṇa inke vilāpakā artha pūrṇarūpase samajhmeṃ nahīṃ ātā; use sunkar anya striyāṃ bhī kuch nahīṃ samajh pātī haiṃ. etā dīrgham ivocchvasya vikruśya ca vilapya ca, vispandamānā duḥkhena vīrā jahati jīvitam.
Vaiśampāyana said: Because the cries of many women blend into one another, the meaning of their lament cannot be fully made out; even other women who hear it cannot discern what is being said. These heroic women, drawing long breaths, calling out to their own people again and again, and wailing piteously—trembling under the weight of grief—seem ready to abandon life itself. The scene underscores how war’s aftermath dissolves individual voices into a single, overwhelming sound of bereavement, revealing the ethical cost borne by those left behind.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and human cost of war: grief becomes so vast that individual voices and meanings are swallowed by collective suffering. It implicitly critiques violence by showing how the survivors—especially women—bear an unbearable burden of loss.
In Strīparvan’s mourning scenes after the great battle, the women’s cries merge into an indistinguishable roar. They sigh deeply, call out to their loved ones, and wail; shaken by sorrow, they appear as if they might relinquish life itself.