Shloka 1
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
ऑपन--माज छा जज सप्तदशो< ध्याय: दुर्योधन तथा उसके पास रोती हुई पुत्रवधूको देखकर गान्धारीका श्रीकृष्णके सम्मुख विलाप वैशम्पायन उवाच दुर्योधन हतं दृष्टवा गान्धारी शोककर्शिता । सहसा न्यपतद् भूमौ छिन्नेव कदली वने,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! दुर्योधनको मारा गया देखकर शोकसे पीड़ित हुई गान्धारी वनमें कटे हुए केलेके वृक्षकी तरह सहसा पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca | duryodhana-hataṃ dṛṣṭvā gāndhārī śoka-karśitā | sahasā nyapatad bhūmau chinneva kadalī vane ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, seeing Duryodhana slain, Gāndhārī—wasted by grief—suddenly fell to the ground, like a banana plant cut down in the forest.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of war: the fall of a great warrior does not bring pure triumph but unleashes profound suffering. Gāndhārī’s collapse symbolizes how adharma-driven conflict devastates families and leaves grief as the enduring consequence.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that Gāndhārī, upon seeing her son Duryodhana killed, is overwhelmed by sorrow and collapses instantly to the earth, compared to a banana plant felled in a forest.