Shloka 2
स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च
Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse
यस्य क्षतजसंदिग्धौ बाहू चन्दनभूषितौ । अवेक्ष्य करुणं भार्या विलपत्यतिदु:खिता,उसकी चन्दनचर्चित भुजाओंको रक्तमें सनी हुई देख उसकी पत्नी अत्यन्त दुःखी हो करुणाजनक विलाप कर रही है
yasya kṣataja-saṁdigdhau bāhū candana-bhūṣitau | avekṣya karuṇaṁ bhāryā vilapaty ati-duḥkhitā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing his arms—once adorned with sandalwood paste—now smeared with blood, his wife, overwhelmed by grief, laments in a heart-rending manner. The verse underscores the human cost of war: the beauty and dignity of the living body are abruptly transformed into signs of violence, and the bereaved are left to mourn.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional aftermath of war: violence does not end on the battlefield but continues in the suffering of families. It evokes compassion by contrasting former adornment (sandalwood) with present horror (blood), reminding the listener of the tragic cost borne by the innocent and bereaved.
In the Strī Parva setting, women encounter the slain and wounded after the great war. Here, a wife sees her husband’s arms—previously anointed with sandalwood—now stained with blood, and she breaks into a sorrowful lament.