Shloka 7
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
इत्युक्ते जानती सर्वमहं स्वव्यसनागमम् । अब्रवं पुरुषव्यापत्र यतो धर्मस्ततो जय:,'पुरुषसिंह श्रीकृष्ण! उसके ऐसा कहनेपर मैं यह सब जानती थी कि मुझपर बड़ा भारी संकट आनेवाला है, तथापि मैंने उससे यही कहा--'जहाँ धर्म है, वहीं विजय है!
ity ukte jānati sarvam ahaṃ svavyasanāgamam | abravaṃ puruṣavyāghra yato dharmas tato jayaḥ ||
When he had spoken thus, though I already understood everything—that a great calamity was about to befall me—I still replied, “O tiger among men, where dharma stands, there indeed is victory.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a moral axiom central to the Mahābhārata: victory is ultimately aligned with dharma—right order, justice, and rightful duty—rather than mere power or strategy.
The speaker says that despite foreseeing an impending personal calamity, she responds to the addressed hero with a principled declaration: the side grounded in dharma is the side destined for true victory.