Shloka 17

स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च

Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse

Devanagari script

द्रोणेन द्रुपदं संख्ये पश्य माधव पातितम्‌ | महाद्विपमिवारण्ये सिंहेन महता हतम्‌

Transliteration

droṇena drupadaṃ saṅkhye paśya mādhava pātitam | mahādvipam ivāraṇye siṃhena mahatā hatam

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Vois, ô Mādhava : Drupada, abattu au cœur de la mêlée par Droṇa, tel un grand éléphant terrassé dans la forêt par un lion puissant.»

Word by Word

द्रोणेनby Drona

द्रुपदम्Drupada

संख्येin battle

पश्यsee (behold)

माधवO Madhava (Krishna)

पातितम्felled, struck down

महाद्विपम्a great elephant

इवlike, as

अरण्येin the forest

सिंहेनby a lion

महताgreat, mighty

हतम्slain, killed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Droṇa

Drupada

Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)

elephant

lion

forest

battlefield

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 fragility of worldly stature in war: even a powerful king can be suddenly brought down. Through the lion–elephant simile, it highlights how conflict reduces human relationships and status to raw force and irreversible loss, inviting reflection on the ethical cost of vengeance and battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana points out to Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) that Drupada has been felled in combat by Droṇa. The event is presented with a vivid comparison: Drupada lies like a great elephant killed by a mighty lion in the forest.