Shloka 28
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
पुत्र रुधिरसंसिक्तमुपजिप्रत्यनिन्दिता । दुर्योधन तु वामोरु: पाणिना परिमार्जती
putra-rudhira-saṁsiktam upajihpraty aninditā | duryodhanaṁ tu vāmoruḥ pāṇinā parimārjatī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The blameless lady, her tongue lolling out, wiped with her hand the blood-smeared body (or limb) of her son Duryodhana. The scene lays bare the stark human cost of war: even amid rightful grief, the aftermath of an adharma-driven conflict reduces royal households to helpless mourning and intimate acts of care for the fallen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and human aftermath of adharma-driven war: power and pride culminate in suffering, and even the ‘victors’ and ‘vanquished’ alike are left with grief, helplessness, and the duty of care for the dead.
In the Stree Parva’s lamentation scenes, a blameless woman—understood in context as Gāndhārī—approaches the fallen Duryodhana and, overwhelmed with sorrow, wipes the blood from her son’s body with her hand.