Shloka 16
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
अपुण्यमयशस्यं च कर्मेदं सात्यकि: स्वयम् । इति यूपध्वजस्यैता: स्त्रिय: क्रोशन्ति माधव,“धर्मात्मा महापुरुष! तुम अकेले दो महारथियोंद्वारा अधर्मपूर्वक मारे जाकर रणभूमिमें सो रहे हो। भला, सात्यकि साधु पुरुषोंकी सभाओं और बैठकोंमें अपने लिये कलंकका टीका लगानेवाले इस पापकर्मका वर्णन स्वयं अपने ही मुखसे किस प्रकार करेंगे?” माधव! इस प्रकार यूपध्वजकी ये स्त्रियाँ सात्यकिको कोस रही हैं
apuṇyam ayaśasyaṃ ca karmedaṃ sātyakiḥ svayam | iti yūpadhvajasya etāḥ striyaḥ krośanti mādhava ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “This deed is both sinful and disgraceful; how could Sātyaki himself ever speak of such an act from his own mouth in the assemblies and gatherings of the virtuous?” Thus, O Mādhava, the women of Yūpadhvaja cry out in lament and denounce Sātyaki—calling the killing adharma and staining the killer’s fame in the moral memory of society.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of actions in war: even victory can be morally tainted. A deed judged as adharma becomes both apuṇya (sin-bearing) and ayaśasya (reputation-destroying), and social memory—especially the lament of the bereaved—functions as a moral tribunal that can outlast the battlefield.
In the aftermath of slaughter, the women of Yūpadhvaja mourn and publicly denounce Sātyaki. They cry that the killing was unrighteous and ask how he could ever recount such a deed among respectable people without incurring lasting shame.