Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 14
उष्णीषे परिगृलह्लीतां माद्रीपुत्रावुभी तथा । स्त्रियः कौरवनाथस्य भीष्मं कुरुकुलोद्वहम्
uṣṇīṣe parigṛhītāṁ mādrīputrāv ubhī tathā | striyaḥ kauravanāthasya bhīṣmaṁ kurukulodvaham ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : les femmes de la maison des Kuru, sous l’autorité des Kaurava, saisirent elles aussi la coiffe des deux fils de Mādrī et s’avancèrent ainsi vers Bhīṣma, le plus éminent soutien de la lignée Kuru—geste ritualisé de supplication et de deuil après la catastrophe dynastique.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a social-ethical moment: in crisis, the Kuru women turn to Bhīṣma as the senior moral authority and symbolic pillar of the dynasty. Their physical act of grasping (by the head-dress) conveys urgent supplication, underscoring the Mahābhārata theme that dharma is often sought from elders when the family order collapses.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the women associated with the Kaurava household seize hold of the two sons of Mādrī—Nakula and Sahadeva—by their head-dress and, in that state of distress, approach Bhīṣma, described as the foremost upholder of the Kuru line.