Shloka 8
Gāndhārī’s Lament and the Identification of Duḥśāsana (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १८)
मध्यमानां तु नारीणां वृद्धानां चापराजित । आक्रन्दं हतबन्धूनां दारुणे वैशसे शृणु,अपराजित वीर! इस दारुण संग्राममें जिनके बन्धु-बान्धव मारे गये हैं, उन अधेड़ और बूढ़ी स्त्रियोंका यह करुणाजनक क्रन्दन सुनो
madhyamānāṁ tu nārīṇāṁ vṛddhānāṁ cāparājita | ākrandaṁ hatabandhūnāṁ dāruṇe vaiśase śṛṇu ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Aparājita, listen to the heartrending wail of those women—middle‑aged and elderly—whose kinsmen have been slain, amid this dreadful carnage.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the human cost of war: beyond victory and defeat, dharma must reckon with the suffering of innocents—especially the bereaved—inviting compassion and moral reflection on violence.
In the Strī Parva’s post-war setting, Vaiśampāyana directs the listener (addressed as ‘Aparājita’) to attend to the anguished cries of middle-aged and elderly women whose relatives have been killed in the massacre-like aftermath of the great battle.