Shloka 26
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
नूनमेषा पुरा बाला जीवमाने महीभुजे । भुजावाश्रित्य रमते सुभुजस्य मनस्विनी,“पहले जब राजा दुर्योधन जीवित था, तब निश्चय ही यह मनस्विनी बाला सुन्दर बाहोंवाले अपने वीर पतिकी दोनों भुजाओंका आश्रय लेकर इसी तरह उसके साथ सानन्द क्रीड़ा करती रही होगी
nūnam eṣā purā bālā jīvamāne mahībhuje | bhujāv āśritya ramate subhujasya manasvinī |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Surely, when that lord of the earth was still alive, this young, high-spirited woman—leaning upon the arms of her handsome-armed husband—must have delighted in playful intimacy with him in just this way.” The line underscores the poignancy of widowhood after war: what was once rightful marital joy is now recalled only as a source of grief amid the ethical wreckage of conflict.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: lawful marital happiness, once a sign of household dharma, becomes a painful recollection after destruction. It implicitly critiques the ethical blindness that leads to conflict by showing its intimate aftermath—bereavement and the collapse of ordinary joys.
Vaiśampāyana describes a bereaved woman (in the context of the women’s lament in the Strī-parvan) and imagines how, when Duryodhana was alive, she would have leaned on her husband’s arms and enjoyed conjugal play. The narration intensifies the scene’s pathos by contrasting past intimacy with present loss.