Shloka 10
Āśvamedhika-parva Adhyāya 1 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament by the Gaṅgā and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel
शोचितव्यं मया चैव गान्धार्या च महीपते । ययो: पुत्रशतं नष्ट स्वप्नलब्धं यथा धनम्,'पृथ्वीनाथ! शोक तो मुझको और गान्धारीको करना चाहिये, जिनके सौ पुत्र स्वप्नमें प्राप्त हुए धनकी भाँति नष्ट हो गये
śocitavyaṃ mayā caiva gāndhāryā ca mahīpate | yayoḥ putraśataṃ naṣṭaṃ svapnalabdhaṃ yathā dhanam ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O king, it is for me—and for Gāndhārī as well—to grieve: for the hundred sons of hers have perished, vanishing like wealth obtained in a dream.”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly gains and lineage: even what seems firmly possessed—like a hundred sons—can vanish as unreal and transient as dream-wealth, inviting reflection on impermanence and the ethical costs of conflict.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses the king and states that he and Gāndhārī are the ones who truly have cause to mourn, because Gāndhārī’s hundred sons have been destroyed, their loss compared to wealth that appears in a dream and disappears upon waking.