Adhyaya 10

Verse 1

अपन बक। है २ >> दशमो< ध्याय: स्त्रियों और प्रजाके लोगोंके सहित राजा धुृतराष्ट्रका रणभूमिमें जानेके लिये नगरसे बाहर निकलना वैशम्पायन उवाच विदुरस्य तु तद्‌ वाक्यं श्रुत्वा तु पुरुषर्षभ:ः । युज्यतां यानमित्युक्त्वा पुनर्वचनमब्रवीत्‌,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्‌! विदुरकी यह बात सुनकर पुरुषश्रेष्ठ राजा धृतराष्ट्रने रथ जोतनेकी आज्ञा देकर पुन: इस प्रकार कहा

Vaiśampāyana said: Hearing those words of Vidura, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra—foremost among men—ordered that the conveyance be made ready, and then spoke again. The scene turns toward the king’s decision to go out toward the battlefield, a moment charged with responsibility and the moral weight of witnessing the consequences of war.

Verse 2

धृतराष्ट्र रवाच शीघ्रमानय गान्धारीं सर्वाश्न भरतस्त्रिय: । वधू कुन्तीमुपादाय याश्चान्यास्तत्र योषित:,धृतराष्ट्र बोले--गान्धारीको तथा भरतवंशी अन्य सब स्त्रियोंको शीघ्र ले आओ तथा वधू कुन्तीको साथ लेकर वहाँ जो दूसरी स्त्रियाँ हों, उन्हें भी बुला लो

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Quickly bring Gāndhārī, and all the women of the Bharata line. Bring the bride Kuntī as well, and summon whatever other women are there.”

Verse 3

एवमुकक्‍्त्वा स धर्मात्मा विदुरं धर्मवित्तमम्‌ । शोकविप्रहतज्ञानो यानमेवान्वपद्यत,परम धर्मज्ञ विदुरजीसे ऐसा कहकर शोकसे जिनकी ज्ञानशक्ति नष्ट-सी हो गयी थी, वे धर्मात्मा राजा धृतराष्ट्र रथपर सवार हुए

Vaiśampāyana said: Having spoken thus to Vidura—foremost among those who know dharma—the righteous Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his discernment as though shattered by grief, at once mounted his conveyance. The scene underscores how even a king devoted to dharma can be overwhelmed by sorrow, yet still moves forward under the guidance of a truly dharma-knowing counselor.

Verse 4

गान्धारी पुत्रशोकार्ता भर्तुर्वचननोदिता । सह कुन्त्या यतो राजा सह स्त्रीभिरुपाद्रवत्‌,गान्धारी पुत्रशोकसे पीड़ित हो रही थीं, पतिकी आज्ञा पाकर वे कुन्ती तथा अन्य स्त्रियोंके साथ जहाँ राजा धृतराष्ट्र थे, वहाँ आयीं

Vaiśampāyana said: Gandhārī, overwhelmed by grief for her sons and urged on by her husband’s command, hurried—together with Kuntī and the other women—to the place where the king was. The passage underscores how personal sorrow is carried within the bounds of duty and obedience to rightful instruction, even amid the moral devastation after war.

Verse 5

ता: समासाद्य राजानं भृशं॑ शोकसमन्विता: । आमन्त्रयान्योन्यमीयु: सम भृशमुच्चुक्रुशुस्तत:

Overwhelmed by intense grief, they approached the king. After addressing one another, they moved together, and then they cried out loudly—an outpouring of sorrow that marks the moral aftermath of war, where victory yields only lamentation and the duties of kinship are strained by irreparable loss.

Verse 6

वहाँ राजाके पास पहुँचकर अत्यन्त शोकमें डूबी हुई वे सारी स्त्रियाँ एक-दूसरीको पुकार-पुकारकर परस्पर गलेसे लग गयीं और जोर-जोरसे फूट-फ़ूटकर रोने लगीं ।। ता: समाश्वासयत क्षत्ता ताभ्यश्षार्ततर: स्वयम्‌ । अश्रुकण्ठी: समारोप्य ततो5सौ निर्ययौ पुरात्‌,विदुरजीने उन सब स्त्रियोंको आश्वासन दिया। वे स्वयं भी उनसे अधिक आर्त हो गये थे। आँसुओंसे गदगद कण्ठ हुई उन सबको रथपर चढ़ाकर वे नगरसे बाहर निकले

Vaiśampāyana said: Vidura, the chamberlain, tried to console those women; yet he himself was even more afflicted than they. When their throats were choked with tears, he helped them up onto the chariot, and then he led them out from the city. The scene underscores a dharmic response to catastrophe: compassionate care for the grieving, even when the caregiver is personally overwhelmed by sorrow.

Verse 7

ततः प्रणाद: संजज्ञे सर्वेषु कुरुवेश्मसु । आकुमारं पुरं सर्वमभवच्छोककर्षितम्‌,तदनन्तर कौरवोंके सभी घरोंमें बड़ा भारी आर्तनाद होने लगा। बूढ़ोंसे लेकर बच्चोंतक सारा नगर शोकसे व्याकुल हो उठा

Then a great wail arose in all the houses of the Kurus. From the very young up to the elders, the entire city was seized and dragged down by grief—an all-encompassing lament that marked the moral and human cost of the war’s aftermath.

Verse 8

अदृष्टपूर्वा या नार्य: पुरा देवगणैरपि । पृथग्जनेन दृश्यन्ते तास्तदा निहतेश्वरा:,जिन स्त्रियोंको पहले कभी देवताओंने भी नहीं देखा था, उनन्‍्हींको उस समय पतियोंके मारे जानेपर साधारण लोग देख रहे थे

Vaiśampāyana said: Those women who in former times had never been seen even by the hosts of gods were, at that moment—when their lords had been slain—being seen by ordinary people. The verse underscores how war shatters the protective boundaries of royal life and exposes the most sheltered to public gaze through the violence of bereavement.

Verse 9

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत स्त्रीपर्वके अन्तर्गत जलप्रदानिकपर्वमें विदुरजीका वाक्यविषयक नवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,प्रकीर्य केशान्‌ सुशुभान्‌ भूषणान्यवमुच्य च । एकवस्त्रधरा नार्य: परिपेतुरनाथवत्‌ वे नारियाँ अपने सुन्दर केश बिखराये सारे आभूषण उतारकर एक ही वस्त्र धारण किये अनाथकी भाँति रणभूमिकी ओर जा रही थीं

Having loosened and scattered their beautiful hair and casting off their ornaments, the women—clad in a single garment—wandered about like the helpless, moving toward the battlefield. The scene underscores how war strips away dignity and protection, leaving even the innocent exposed to grief and social vulnerability.

Verse 10

श्वेतपर्वतरूपे भ्यो गृहेभ्यस्तास्त्वपाक्रमन्‌ | गुहाभ्य इव शैलानां पृषत्यो हतयूथपा:,कौरवोंके घर श्वेत पर्वतके समान जान पड़ते थे। उनसे जब वे स्त्रियाँ बाहर निकलीं, उस समय जिनका यूथपति मारा गया हो, पर्वतोंकी गुफासे निकली हुई उन चितकबरी हरिणियोंके समान दिखायी देने लगीं इति श्रीमहाभारते स्त्रीपर्वणि जलप्रदानिकपर्वणि धृतराष्ट्रनिर्गमने दशमो<5ध्याय: ।। १० || इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत स्त्रीपर्वके अन्तर्गत जलप्रदानिकपर्वनें धृतराष्ट्रका नगरसे निकलनाविषयक दसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: From those houses that looked like white mountains, the women came out. As they emerged, they appeared like speckled does coming forth from the caves of hills—herd-leaders slain—bereft of protection and stricken by grief. The image underscores the moral aftermath of war: when the guardians fall, the vulnerable are left exposed, and the victory of arms turns into a landscape of sorrow.

Verse 11

तान्युदीर्णानि नारीणां तदा वृन्दान्यनेकश: । शोकार्तनन्यद्रवन्‌ राजन्‌ किशोरीणामिवाड़ने,राजन्‌! राजभवनके विशाल आँगनमें एकत्र हुई उन किशोरी स्त्रियोंके अनेक समुदाय शोकसे पीड़ित होकर रणभूमिकी ओर उसी प्रकार चले, जैसे बछेड़ियाँ शिक्षाभूमिपर लायी जाती हैं

Verse 12

प्रगृह्म बाहून्‌ क्रोशन्त्यः पुत्रान्‌ भ्रातृन्‌ पितृनपि । दर्शयन्तीव ता ह सम युगान्ते लोकसंक्षयम्‌,एक-दूसरीके हाथ पकड़कर पुत्रों, भाइयों और पिताओंके नाम ले-लेकर रोती हुई वे कुरुकुलकी नारियाँ प्रलयकालमें लोक-संहारका दृश्य दिखाती हुई-सी जान पड़ती थीं

Verse 13

विलपन्त्यो रुदत्यक्ष धावमानास्ततस्तत:ः । शोकेनोपहतत्ञाना: कर्तव्यं न प्रजज्ञिरे,शोकसे उनकी ज्ञानशक्ति लुप्त-सी हो गयी थी। वे रोती और विलाप करती हुई इधर- उधर दौड़ रही थीं। उन्हें कोई कर्तव्य नहीं सूझ रहा था

Vaiśampāyana said: The women, wailing and weeping, ran here and there. Overwhelmed by grief, their discernment was shattered, and they could no longer recognize what ought to be done—duty and right action disappeared from their minds in the shock of loss.

Verse 14

व्रीडां जग्मु: पुरा या: सम सखीनामपि योषित: । ता एकवस्त्रा निर्लज्जा: श्वश्रूणां पुरतो5भवन्‌,जो युवतियाँ पहले सखियोंके सामने आनेमें भी लजाती थीं, वे ही उस दिन लाज छोड़कर एक वस्त्र धारण किये अपनी सासुओंके सामने उपस्थित हो गयी थीं

Vaiśampāyana said: Those women who earlier would feel modesty even before their own close friends, on that day cast aside shame and appeared before their mothers-in-law wearing only a single garment—an image of how grief and catastrophe can strip away ordinary social restraints.

Verse 15

परस्पर सुसूक्ष्मेषु शोकेष्वाश्वासयंस्तदा । ता: शोकविद्धदला राजन्नवैक्षन्त परस्परम्‌

Vaiśampāyana said: Then, as they tried to console one another amid grief so subtle and inward, those women—whose hearts were pierced by sorrow—could not even look at each other, O King. The scene shows how, after catastrophic violence, even compassionate words falter and shared mourning becomes too heavy to meet with a gaze.

Verse 16

राजन! जो नारियाँ छोटे-से-छोटे शोकमें भी एक दूसरीके पास जाकर आश्वासन दिया करती थीं, वे ही शोकसे व्याकुल हो परस्पर दृष्टिपातमात्र कर रही थीं ।। ताभि: परिवृतो राजा रुदतीभि: सहस्रश: । निर्ययौ नगराद्‌ दीनस्तूर्णमायोधन प्रति,उन रोती हुई सहसों स्त्रियोंसे घिरे हुए दुःखी राजा धृतराष्ट्र नगरसे युद्धस्थलमें जानेके लिये तुरंत निकल पड़े

Vaiśampāyana said: Surrounded by thousands of weeping women, the king—utterly desolate—quickly departed from the city toward the battlefield. The scene underscores how grief can silence even those who once consoled others, and how the aftermath of war compels rulers to confront the human cost of their decisions.

Verse 17

शिल्पिनो वणिजो वैश्या: सर्वकर्मोपजीविन: । ते पार्थिवं पुरस्कृत्य निर्ययुर्नगराद्‌ बहि:,कारीगर, व्यापारी वैश्य तथा सब प्रकारके कर्मोंसे जीवन-निर्वाह करनेवाले लोग राजाको आगे करके नगरसे बाहर निकले

Vaiśampāyana said: The artisans, the merchants, the Vaiśyas, and all those who earned their livelihood by every kind of work went out beyond the city, placing the king at their head. The verse underscores a civic order in which the ruler is brought forward as the public face and protector of the community, even as diverse occupational groups move together in a collective response to the crisis of war’s aftermath.

Verse 18

तासां विक्रोशमानानामार्तानां कुरुसंक्षये । प्रादुरासीन्महान्‌ शब्दो व्यथयन्‌ भुवनान्युत,कौरवोंका संहार हो जानेपर आर्तभावसे रोती और विलपती हुई उन नारियोंका महान्‌ आर्तनाद सम्पूर्ण लोकोंको व्यथित करता हुआ प्रकट होने लगा

Vaiśampāyana said: As those women, stricken with grief, cried out and wailed over the destruction of the Kurus, a great, piercing clamour arose—so intense that it seemed to shake and distress the worlds themselves. The verse underscores the ethical aftermath of war: beyond victory and defeat, collective suffering spreads outward, touching all realms of life.

Verse 19

युगान्तकाले सम्प्राप्ते भूतानां दह्युतामिव । अभाव: स्यादयं प्राप्त इति भूतानि मेनिरे,प्रलयकाल आनेपर दग्ध होते हुए प्राणियोंके चीखने-चिल्लानेके समान उन स्त्रियोंके रोनेका वह महान्‌ शब्द गूँज रहा था। सब प्राणी ऐसा समझने लगे कि यह संहारकाल आ पहुँचा है

Vaiśampāyana said: When the end of an age seemed to have arrived, the lamentation resounded like the cries of living beings being burned at the time of cosmic dissolution. Hearing it, creatures everywhere imagined, “This must be the hour of annihilation that has come upon us.”

Verse 20

भृशमुद्विग्नमनसस्ते पौरा: कुरुसंक्षये । प्राक्रोशन्‍्त महाराज स्वनुरक्तास्तदा भृूशम्‌,महाराज! कुरुकुलका संहार हो जानेसे अत्यन्त उद्विग्नचित्त हुए पुरवासी जो राजवंशके साथ पूर्ण अनुराग रखते थे, जोर-जोरसे रोने लगे

Vaiśampāyana said: O King, when the Kuru line was brought to ruin, the citizens—deeply attached to their own royal house—became intensely distressed at heart and cried out loudly in grief. The verse underscores how the devastation of war spreads beyond the battlefield, wounding the moral and emotional fabric of the entire community.