Shloka 55
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
पाणिभिश्चापरा घ्नन्ति शिरांसि मधुसूदन । प्रेक्ष्य भ्रातृन् पितृन् पुत्रान् पतींक्ष निहतान् परै:,“मधुसूदन! देखो, बहुत-सी स्त्रियाँ शत्रुओंद्वारा मारे गये भाइयों, पिताओं, पुत्रों और पतियोंको देखकर अपने हाथोंसे सिर पीट रही हैं
pāṇibhiś cāparā ghnanti śirāṃsi madhusūdana | prekṣya bhrātṝn pitṝn putrān patīṃś ca nihatān paraiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Madhusūdana, seeing their brothers, fathers, sons, and husbands slain by the enemy, many women are striking their own heads with their hands.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the human cost of war: beyond victory and defeat, dharma is tested by the suffering of innocents. It implicitly warns that violence rebounds as collective grief, calling for compassion and restraint.
In the Strī Parva’s post-war scene, Vaiśampāyana describes women who, upon seeing their male relatives killed by the opposing side, beat their heads with their hands in intense mourning, while addressing Kṛṣṇa as Madhusūdana.