Shloka 5
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
समीपस्थं हृषीकेशमिदं वचनमत्रवीत् । उपस्थिते5स्मिन् संग्रामे ज्ञातीनां संक्षये विभो,वे पास ही खड़े हुए श्रीकृष्णसे इस प्रकार कहने लगीं--वृष्णिनन्दन! प्रभो! भाई- बन्धुओंका विनाश करनेवाला जब यह भीषण संग्राम उपस्थित हुआ था, उस समय इस नृपश्रेष्ठ दुर्योधनने मुझसे हाथ जोड़कर कहा--“माताजी! कुटुम्बीजनोंके इस संग्राममें आप मुझे मेरी विजयके लिये आशीर्वाद दें”
samīpasthaṃ hṛṣīkeśam idaṃ vacanam atravīt | upasthite 'smin saṃgrāme jñātīnāṃ saṃkṣaye vibho ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Standing near Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa), she spoke these words: “O Lord, when this dreadful war—bringing about the destruction of kinsmen—had come upon us, that foremost of kings, Duryodhana, with joined palms, said to me: ‘Mother, in this battle among relatives, grant me your blessing for victory.’” The passage highlights the moral strain of kin-slaying war and the ethically fraught request for a blessing that would endorse triumph at the cost of family ruin.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical tension in war among relatives: even a seemingly pious act—seeking a mother’s blessing—can become morally compromised when it aims at victory through the destruction of one’s own kin. It invites reflection on whether blessings and loyalties should align with mere success or with dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that a woman (speaking near Kṛṣṇa) recalls an earlier moment: when the terrible kin-destroying war was imminent, Duryodhana approached her with folded hands and requested her blessing for his victory in that family conflict.