Shloka 19

Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)

Devanagari script

एष दुर्योधन: शेते महेष्वासो महाबल: । शार्टूल इव सिंहेन भीमसेनेन पातितः,'सिंहके मारे हुए दूसरे सिंहके समान भीमसेनके हाथों मारा गया यह महाबली महाथनुर्धर दुर्योधन सो रहा है

Transliteration

eṣa duryodhanaḥ śete maheṣvāso mahābalaḥ | śārṭūla iva siṃhena bhīmasenena pātitaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Here lies Duryodhana—mighty in strength and a great archer—felled by Bhīmasena, like a tiger brought down by a lion.” The line underscores the grim moral weight of the war’s end: heroic prowess remains, yet it culminates in defeat and death, revealing the tragic cost of adharma-driven ambition and enmity.

Word by Word

एषःthis (man)

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

शेतेlies (is lying)

महेष्वासःgreat bowman

महाबलःvery strong, mighty

शार्दूलःa tiger

इवlike, as

सिंहेनby a lion

भीमसेनेनby Bhimasena

पातितःfelled, struck down

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Duryodhana

Bhīmasena

tiger (śārṭūla)

lion (siṃha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even extraordinary power and martial excellence cannot protect one who persists in adharma; the war’s conclusion highlights how pride, hostility, and injustice culminate in ruin, leaving only grief and moral reckoning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana points out Duryodhana lying slain—described as a mighty archer and strong warrior—brought down by Bhīmasena, compared to a tiger felled by a lion, marking the finality of the Kaurava leader’s defeat.