Shloka 15
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
यं पुरा व्यजनै रम्यैरुपवीजन्ति योषित: । तमद्य पक्षव्यजनैरुपवीजन्ति पक्षिण:,“पहले जिसके पास खड़ी होकर युवतियाँ सुन्दर पंखे झला करती थीं, आज उसीको पक्षीगण अपनी पाँखोंसे हवा करते हैं
yaṃ purā vyajanai ramyair upavījanti yoṣitaḥ | tam adya pakṣa-vyajanair upavījanti pakṣiṇaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “He whom, in former days, maidens would stand by and gently fan with lovely hand-fans—him today the birds fan with the fans of their own wings.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly grandeur and human service are impermanent; violence and adharma can overturn status instantly, leaving even the once-honored to abandonment. The verse uses stark contrast to awaken vairāgya (dispassion) and ethical reflection on the cost of war.
In the lament-filled context of Strī Parva, the narrator points to a fallen figure whose former royal comfort—being fanned by attendants—has been replaced by birds fanning him with their wings, implying death or utter desolation on the battlefield and highlighting the devastation after the Kurukṣetra war.