Shloka 41

अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal

Devanagari script

इयं च द्रौपदी कृष्णा हतज्ञातिसुता भृशम्‌ । शोचत्यतीव सर्वासां स्नुषाणां दयिता स्नुषा,“यह ट्रुपदकुमारी कृष्णा मुझे अपनी समस्त पुत्र-वधुओंमें सबसे अधिक प्रिय है। इस बेचारीके भाई-बन्धु और पुत्र सभी मारे गये हैं; जिससे यह अत्यन्त शोकमग्न रहा करती है

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | iyaṃ ca draupadī kṛṣṇā hatajñātisutā bhṛśam | śocaty atīva sarvāsāṃ snuṣāṇāṃ dayitā snuṣā |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Et cette Draupadī, Kṛṣṇā—dont les parents et les fils ont été cruellement abattus—s’afflige à l’excès. Parmi toutes les belles-filles, elle est la plus aimée.»

Word by Word

इयम्this (woman)

चand

द्रौपदीDraupadī

कृष्णाKṛṣṇā (Draupadī)

हत-ज्ञाति-सुताwhose kinsmen and sons are slain

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

शोचतिgrieves, laments

अतीवvery, exceedingly

सर्वासाम्of all

स्नुषाणाम्of daughters-in-law

दयिताbeloved, dear

स्नुषाdaughter-in-law

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Draupadī

Kṛṣṇā (epithet of Draupadī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical reality that the end of conflict does not end suffering: the survivors, especially those who have lost entire networks of kin and children, carry profound grief. It invites compassion and remembrance of war’s human cost beyond victory or defeat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana points out Draupadī among the women, describing her as intensely grieving because her relatives and sons have been killed, and noting that she is especially dear among the daughters-in-law.