Shloka 27

Gāndhārī’s Lament and the Identification of Duḥśāsana (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १८)

Devanagari script

एष दुःशासन: शेते विक्षिप्य विपुलौ भुजौ । निहतो भीमसेनेन सिंहेनेव महागज:,सिंहके मारे हुए विशाल हाथीके समान भीमसेनका मारा हुआ यह दु:शासन दोनों विशाल हाथ फैलाये रणभूमिमें पड़ा हुआ है

Transliteration

eṣa duḥśāsanaḥ śete vikṣipya vipulau bhujau | nihato bhīmasenena siṃhen eva mahāgajaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Here lies Duḥśāsana, his two mighty arms flung wide, slain by Bhīmasena—like a great elephant brought down by a lion.” The verse underscores the moral weight of retribution in war: the violent aggressor meets a fitting end, and the battlefield becomes the visible consequence of adharma.

Word by Word

एषःthis (one)

दुःशासनःDuhshasana

शेतेlies

विक्षिप्यhaving flung/spread out

विपुलौbroad, huge (two)

भुजौarms (two)

निहतःslain

भीमसेनेनby Bhimasena

सिंहेनby a lion

इवlike, as

महागजःa great elephant

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Duḥśāsana

Bhīmasena

lion (siṃha)

great elephant (mahāgaja)

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?

The verse presents the battlefield as a moral ledger: wrongdoing (adharma) culminates in ruin, and the fall of a notorious offender is portrayed as a fitting, almost natural, consequence—symbolized by the lion overpowering the elephant.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Duḥśāsana’s corpse on the battlefield, arms spread out, emphasizing that he has been killed by Bhīmasena. The simile compares Duḥśāsana to a huge elephant felled by a lion, highlighting Bhīma’s overpowering force and the finality of Duḥśāsana’s end.