Shloka 12

Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच एवमुक्त: स कृष्णेन सर्व सत्यं जनाधिप । उवाच देवकीपुत्रं धृतराष्ट्री महीपति:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca evam uktaḥ sa kṛṣṇena sarvaṃ satyaṃ janādhipa | uvāca devakīputraṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrī mahīpatiḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ainsi interpellé par Kṛṣṇa en des paroles entièrement véridiques, ô seigneur des hommes, ce roi—Dhṛtarāṣṭra—répondit au fils de Devakī. Le récit souligne qu’un conseil fondé sur la vérité (satya) devient le socle moral auquel même un souverain accablé de chagrin doit répondre et assumer sa responsabilité.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been addressed / spoken to

सःhe

कृष्णेनby Kṛṣṇa

सर्वम्all

सत्यम्truth

जनाधिपO ruler of men

उवाचsaid

देवकीपुत्रम्Devakī’s son (Kṛṣṇa)

धृतराष्ट्रीDhṛtarāṣṭrī (Gāndhārī)

महीपतिO lord of the earth (king)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṛṣṇa

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Devakī

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 highlights satya (truthfulness) as the ethical foundation of counsel and response: when guidance is fully truthful, a ruler is morally compelled to answer and act with accountability, especially amid the sorrow and reckoning after war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that after Kṛṣṇa has spoken truthfully, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra then speaks to Kṛṣṇa (Devakī’s son), marking a transition to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s reply within the Stree Parva context.