Mahabharata 11.21.9 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 9
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
स भूत्वा शरणं वीरो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य माधव । भूमौ विनिहत: शेते वातभग्न इव द्रुम:
sa bhūtvā śaraṇaṃ vīro dhārtarāṣṭrasya mādhava | bhūmau vinihataḥ śete vātabhagna iva drumaḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: “Oh Mādhava, aquel héroe—que se había convertido en refugio y protector del hijo de Dhṛtarāṣṭra—ahora yace muerto sobre la tierra, como un árbol quebrado por un viento violento.” El verso subraya la inversión trágica de la guerra: incluso el más poderoso, que antes fue escudo de otro, queda reducido a la quietud, recordando la fragilidad del poder y la ruina que sigue a la ambición guiada por el adharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collapse of worldly strength and protection in the face of death: a warrior who served as a ‘refuge’ for an unjust cause ultimately falls, illustrating the impermanence of power and the destructive end of adharma-driven conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes to Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) that a great hero who had been the main support of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son now lies dead on the battlefield, compared to a tree snapped by a storm—an image typical of the Stree Parva’s grief-filled recounting of the fallen.
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