Shloka 6
धृतराष्ट्रस्य उपालम्भः तथा पाण्डव-समाश्वासनम् | Dhṛtarāṣṭra Reproved and the Pāṇḍavas Consoled
ताभि: परिवृतो राजा क्रोशन्तीभि: सहस्रश: । ऊर्ध्वबाहुभिराताभी रुदतीभि: प्रियाप्रियै:
tābhiḥ parivṛto rājā krośantībhiḥ sahasraśaḥ | ūrdhvabāhubhirārtābhī rudatībhiḥ priyāpriyaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The king was surrounded by thousands of women wailing aloud—women stricken with grief, raising their arms in anguish, and weeping for those dear to them and those not dear. The scene lays bare the moral aftermath of war: victory and defeat alike culminate in shared human suffering, where attachment and aversion both dissolve into the same lament.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical cost of war: beyond political outcomes, the true consequence is widespread grief. It suggests a moral reflection that suffering is universal—mourning arises for both the beloved and the not-beloved—revealing the fragility of human life and the futility of triumph measured only in victory.
In the aftermath of the great slaughter, the king is encircled by innumerable women who cry out and weep, lifting their arms in despair. Their lamentation forms a collective scene of bereavement, emphasizing the scale of loss that follows the battle.