Shloka 42
स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च
Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse
पतिशुश्रूषया यन्मे तप: किंचिदुपार्जितम् | तेन त्वां दुरवापेन शप्स्ये चक्रगदाधर,चक्र और गदा धारण करनेवाले केशव! मैंने पतिकी सेवासे जो कुछ भी तप प्राप्त किया है, उस दुर्लभ तपोबलसे तुम्हें शाप दे रही हूँ
patiśuśrūṣayā yan me tapaḥ kiñcid upārjitam | tena tvāṃ duravāpena śapsye cakragadādhara ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Whatever little ascetic merit I have gained through devoted service to my husband—by that hard-to-attain spiritual power I now pronounce a curse upon you, O Kṛṣṇa, bearer of the discus and the mace.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral force attributed to tapas earned through disciplined, faithful conduct—here, wifely devotion—showing that ethical and ascetic merit is believed to carry real potency, even to the extent of authorizing a curse against a powerful figure when one feels grievously wronged.
In the Stree Parva’s post-war setting of grief and accusation, a woman invokes the spiritual merit she has gained through service to her husband and directs it as a curse toward Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), addressed by his epithet ‘bearer of discus and mace,’ expressing outrage at the catastrophic outcome of the war.