Shloka 11
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
अमूस्तु भूरिश्रवसो भार्या: सात्यकिना हतम् | परिवार्यानुशोचन्ति भर्तारमसितेक्षणा:,श्रीकृष्ण! भूरिश्रवाकी कजरारे नेत्रोंवाली वे पत्नियाँ सात्यकिद्वारा मारे गये अपने पतिको सब ओरसे घेरकर बारंबार शोकसे पीड़ित हो रही हैं
amūstu bhūriśravaso bhāryāḥ sātyakinā hatam | parivāryānuśocanti bhartāram asitekṣaṇāḥ śrīkṛṣṇa ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the dark-eyed wives of Bhūriśravas, surrounding their husband who had been slain by Sātyaki, were again and again overcome with grief and lamented him from every side.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the human cost of war: beyond victory and defeat, families—especially widows—bear enduring sorrow. It implicitly invites ethical reflection on violence and its consequences, emphasizing compassion in the aftermath.
In the Strī Parva’s lamentation scenes, Bhūriśravas’s wives gather around his slain body. They encircle him and repeatedly mourn, while the narrator addresses Śrī Kṛṣṇa, situating the grief within the broader post-war devastation.