Shloka 2
Gāndhārī’s Lament and the Identification of Duḥśāsana (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १८)
इदं दुःखतरं मेडद्य यदिमा मुक्तमूर्थजा: । हतपुत्रा रणे बाला: परिधावन्ति मे स्नुषा:,सबसे अधिक दुःख मुझे आज यह देखकर हो रहा है कि ये मेरी बालवधुएँ, जिनके पुत्र भी मारे जा चुके हैं, रणभूमिमें केश खोले चारों ओर अपने स्वजनोंकी खोजमें दौड़ रही हैं
idaṁ duḥkhataraṁ me ’dya yad imā muktamūrdhajāḥ | hataputrā raṇe bālāḥ paridhāvanti me snuṣāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “What grieves me most today is this sight: these young daughters-in-law of mine, their sons slain, with their hair loosened in mourning, are running about the battlefield searching for their own kin.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of war: beyond the fallen warriors, the deepest suffering spreads to families—especially women—whose social and emotional world collapses. It underscores that adharma in conflict manifests as enduring grief and disorder in society.
In the Strī Parva’s mourning scenes after the great battle, the narrator describes a heartbreaking sight: young widowed daughters-in-law, their sons also killed, roam the battlefield with unbound hair, searching among the dead for their relatives.