Shloka 31
Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
वैशम्पायन उवाच इत्युक्त्वा तं चिताग्निस्थं धर्मपत्नी नरर्षभम् । मद्रराजसुता तूर्णमन्वारोहदू यशस्विनी
vaiśampāyana uvāca | ity uktvā taṃ citāgnisthaṃ dharmapatnī nararṣabham | madrarājasutā tūrṇam anvārohād yaśasvinī ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Tras hablar así, la ilustre Mādrī—hija del rey de Madra y esposa legítima—subió con presteza a la pira funeraria, siguiendo a Pāṇḍu, toro entre los hombres, que yacía en medio del fuego de la pira.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s portrayal of dharma through the ideal of the dharmapatnī—one who remains bound to her husband by a socially sanctioned ethic of fidelity—even at the cost of her own life, while implicitly inviting reflection on the weight and consequences of such vows and choices.
After speaking (contextually, to Kuntī and others), Mādrī, the Madra princess and Pāṇḍu’s wife, climbs onto the funeral pyre where Pāṇḍu’s body lies in the pyre-fire, choosing to die with him.