Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

रथनीडानि देहांश्व॒ हतानां गजवाजिनाम्‌ । आश्रित्य श्रममोहार्ता: स्थिता: पश्य महाभुज,महाबाहो! देखो, ये स्त्रियाँ परिश्रम और मोहसे पीड़ित हो टूटे हुए रथोंकी बैठकों तथा मारे गये हाथी-घोड़ोंकी लाशोंका सहारा लेकर खड़ी हैं

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: rathanīḍāni dehāṃś ca hatānāṃ gajavājinām āśritya śramamohārtāḥ sthitāḥ paśya mahābhuja, mahābāho.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O mighty-armed, O strong-armed one—look: these women, overcome by exhaustion and bewilderment, stand leaning for support on the shattered seats of chariots and on the bodies of slain elephants and horses.”

Word by Word

रथनीडानिchariot-seats / chariot-nests (resting-places on chariots)

देहान्bodies

चand

हतानाम्of the slain

गजवाजिनाम्of elephants and horses

आश्रित्यhaving resorted to / leaning on

श्रममोहार्ताःafflicted by fatigue and delusion

स्थिताःstanding / stationed

पश्यsee!

महाभुजO mighty-armed one

महाबाहोO strong-armed one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

women (striyaḥ, implied by context)

chariots (ratha)

elephants (gaja)

horses (vājin)

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 underscores the human cost of war: even victory leaves a landscape of death and the living—especially the vulnerable—are left stunned, exhausted, and forced to seek support amid wreckage. It implicitly calls for compassion and moral reflection on violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Strī Parva’s post-war setting, the narrator points out women on the battlefield who, overwhelmed by fatigue and shock, are standing by leaning on broken chariot structures and the bodies of slain elephants and horses—an image of devastation and mourning.