Shloka 19

स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च

Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse

Devanagari script

एतास्तु द्रुपदं वृद्ध स्नुषा भार्याश्व दुःखिता: । दग्ध्वा गच्छन्ति पाउचाल्यं राजानमपसव्यतः,इन बूढ़े पांचालराज ट्रपदको इनकी दुःखी रानियाँ और पुत्रवधुएँ चितामें जलाकर इनकी प्रदक्षिणा करके जा रही हैं

Transliteration

etāstu drupadaṁ vṛddha snuṣā bhāryāś ca duḥkhitāḥ | dagdhvā gacchanti pāñcālyaṁ rājānam apasavyataḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “These sorrow-stricken queens and daughters-in-law, having consigned the aged King Drupada to the funeral fire, now proceed, circumambulating the king of Pāñcāla in the reverse direction.”

Word by Word

एताःthese (women)

तुbut/indeed

द्रुपदम्Drupada

वृद्धO old one / O aged (king)

स्नुषाःdaughters-in-law

भार्याःwives

चand

दुःखिताःgrief-stricken

दग्ध्वाhaving burnt/cremated

गच्छन्तिthey go

पाञ्चाल्यम्to Panchala (country/region)

राजानम्the king

अपसव्यतःkeeping on the left / counterclockwise

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Drupada

Pāñcāla

queens (bhāryāḥ)

daughters-in-law (snuṣāḥ)

funeral pyre/cremation fire (implied by dagdhvā)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid overwhelming sorrow, dharma is upheld through proper funerary rites; the reverse circumambulation (apasavya) marks the inauspicious, liminal context of death and acknowledges the gravity of loss after war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Drupada’s bereaved queens and daughters-in-law cremate the aged king and then move on while performing apasavya circumambulation around him, a ritual gesture associated with funerary observance.