Shloka 24
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
इदं कष्टतरं पश्य पुत्रस्यापि वधान्मम । यदिमा: पर्युपासन्ते हतान् शूरान् रणे स्त्रिय:,मेरे लिये पुत्रके ववसे भी अधिक कष्ट देनेवाली बात यह है कि स्त्रियाँ रणभूमिमें मारे गये अपने शूरवीर पतियोंके पास बैठी रो रही हैं। इनकी दयनीय दशा तो देखो
idaṃ kaṣṭataraṃ paśya putrasyāpi vadhān mama | yad imāḥ paryupāsante hatān śūrān raṇe striyaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Behold something even more painful for me than the killing of my own son: these women sit close by their fallen heroes on the battlefield, keeping vigil and weeping. Look upon their pitiable condition.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and emotional aftermath of war: beyond strategic victory or personal loss, the deepest suffering is witnessed in the innocent and dependent—here, women bereft of their protectors—highlighting compassion and the true human cost of violence.
In the Strī Parva’s lamentation scenes after the Kurukṣetra war, Vaiśampāyana describes women sitting beside the bodies of slain warriors on the battlefield, mourning and keeping vigil; he calls this sight more unbearable than even the death of his own son.