Shloka 40
स्त्रीपर्व — अध्याय १५: गान्धारी-युधिष्ठिर-संवादः
Gandhārī’s Confrontation and Consolation of Yudhiṣṭhira
वैशम्पायन उवाच तामुवाचाथ गान्धारी सह वध्वा यशस्विनीम्,असिद्धानुनये कृष्णे यदुवाच महामति: । वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! गान्धारीने बहू द्रौपदी और यशस्विनी कुन्तीसे कहा--“बेटी! इस प्रकार शोकसे व्याकुल न होओ। देखो, मैं भी तो दुःखमें डूबी हुई हूँ। मैं समझती हूँ, समयके उलट-फेरसे प्रेरित होकर यह सम्पूर्ण जगत्का विनाश हुआ है, जो स्वभावसे ही रोमांचकारी है। यह काण्ड अवश्यम्भावी था, इसीलिये प्राप्त हुआ है। जब संधि करानेके विषयमें श्रीकृष्णकी अनुनय-विनय सफल नहीं हुई, उस समय परम बुद्धिमान् विदुरजीने जो महत्त्वपूर्ण बात कही थी, उसीके अनुसार यह सब कुछ सामने आया है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tām uvāca atha gāndhārī saha vadhvā yaśasvinīm, asiddhānunaye kṛṣṇe yad uvāca mahāmatiḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Gāndhārī spoke to that illustrious lady together with her daughter-in-law, saying: “My child, do not be overwhelmed by grief in this way. See— I too am submerged in sorrow. I understand that, driven by the reversal of Time, this destruction of the whole world has come to pass—terrible by its very nature. This calamity was bound to happen; therefore it has occurred. When Kṛṣṇa’s efforts of supplication for reconciliation did not succeed, events unfolded exactly in accordance with the weighty words earlier spoken by the supremely wise Vidura.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the catastrophe as propelled by Kāla (Time) and as inevitable, urging restraint in grief and highlighting the ethical weight of wise counsel: when reconciliation fails, consequences unfold as foreseen by dharmic advisors like Vidura.
In the aftermath of the war, Gāndhārī addresses Kuntī and her daughter-in-law Draupadī, consoling them and interpreting the devastation as an unavoidable outcome—especially after Kṛṣṇa’s attempt to broker peace did not succeed—recalling Vidura’s earlier warning.