Shloka 16
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीभीमसेनसंवादः
Strī-parva — Gāndhārī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Wartime Conduct
दुर्योधनापराधेन शकुने: सौबलस्य च । कर्णदु:शासनाभ्यां च कृतो<यं कुरुसंक्षय:,कुरुकुलका यह संहार तो दुर्योधन, मेरे भाई शकुनि, कर्ण तथा दुःशासनके अपराधसे ही हुआ है
duryodhanāparādhena śakuneḥ saubalasya ca | karṇaduḥśāsanābhyāṃ ca kṛto 'yaṃ kurusaṃkṣayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “This destruction of the Kuru line has been brought about by the wrongdoing of Duryodhana, and also of Śakuni the son of Subala, and likewise by Karṇa and Duḥśāsana.” The statement fixes moral responsibility for the catastrophe on deliberate choices—offences against dharma that ripened into the annihilation of an entire dynasty.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Collective catastrophe is traced to specific moral failures: when leaders persist in aparādha (culpable wrongdoing) against dharma, the consequences expand beyond individuals and can destroy an entire lineage and social order.
In the aftermath of the war (Stree Parva’s lamentation context), Vaiśampāyana identifies the principal agents whose offences led to the Kurus’ annihilation—Duryodhana, Śakuni, Karṇa, and Duḥśāsana—framing the devastation as the fruit of their choices.