Shloka 3
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीविलापः
Strī Parva — Gāndhārī’s Lament over the Fallen
अस्य चापग्रहेणैव पाणि: कृतकिणो महान् | कथज्जचिच्छिद्यते गृप्रैरत्तुकामैस्तलत्रवान्,बराबर धनुष लिये रहनेसे इसकी विशाल हथेलीमें घट्ठा पड़ गया है। इसके हाथमें इस समय भी दस्ताना बँधा हुआ है; इसलिये इसे खानेकी इच्छावाले गीध बड़ी कठिनाईसे किसी-किसी तरह काट पाते हैं
asya cāpagraheṇaiva pāṇiḥ kṛtakiṇo mahān | kathaṃ ca cicchidyate gṛdhrair attukāmais talatravān ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “By the very act of gripping the bow, his great palm has become hardened with thick calluses. And since his hand is still covered with a protective glove, the vultures that long to feed can only with great difficulty manage to tear and cut it.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim ethical aftermath of war: the warrior’s lifelong discipline (a palm hardened by gripping the bow) becomes, after death, a mark on the body amid battlefield desecration. It evokes reflection on the cost of violence and the impermanence of martial glory.
Vaiśampāyana describes a fallen warrior’s hand: it is large and calloused from constant bow-gripping, and still protected by a glove/hand-guard. Because of this covering, vultures trying to eat the corpse can only tear the hand with difficulty.