Shloka 15
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
श्रान्तानां चाप्यनाथानां नासीत् काचन चेतना । पाज्चालकुरुयोषाणां कृपणं तदभून्महत्,उन थकी-माँदी और अनाथ हुई पांचालों तथा कौरवोंकी स्त्रियोंको वहाँ चेत नहीं रह गया था। उन सबकी बड़ी दयनीय दशा हो गयी थी
śrāntānāṃ cāpy anāthānāṃ nāsīt kācanā cetanā | pāñcāla-kuru-yoṣāṇāṃ kṛpaṇaṃ tad abhūn mahat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Exhausted and left without protectors, the women had no awareness remaining. The plight of the women of the Pāñcālas and the Kurus became profoundly pitiable—an image of war’s aftermath where strength and status collapse into helpless suffering.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical cost of war: beyond victory and defeat, the vulnerable—especially bereaved women—are left exhausted, unprotected, and nearly insensible with grief. It invites compassion and a sober recognition of violence’s human consequences.
In the Strī Parva’s lamentation setting after the Kurukṣetra slaughter, Vaiśampāyana describes the condition of the women of the Pāñcālas and Kurus: they are worn out, without protectors, and have lost conscious awareness, their misery becoming overwhelming.