Shloka 1
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीविलापः
Strī Parva — Gāndhārī’s Lament over the Fallen
प्याज बक। अऑफि्--छऋाय एकोनविशो< ध्याय: विकर्ण, दुर्मुख, चित्रसेन, विविंशति तथा 5 हक देखकर गान्धारीका श्रीकृष्णके सम्मुख िलाप गान्धायुवाच एष माधव पुत्रो मे विकर्ण: प्राज्ञसम्मत: । भूमौ विनिहत: शेते भीमेन शतधा कृत:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्माभारत स्त्रीपर्वके अन्तर्गत स्त्रीविलापपर्वमें गान्धारीवाक्यविषयक उन्नीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ १९ ॥ ऑपन-माज बछ। डे विशो< ध्याय: गान्धारीद्वारा श्रीकृष्णके प्रति उत्तरा और विराटकुलकी स्त्रियोंक शोक एवं विलापका वर्णन गान्धायुवाच अध्यर्धगुणमाहुर्य बले शौर्ये च केशव । पित्रा त्वया च दाशार्ह दृप्तं सिंहमिवोत्कटम्
gāndhāry uvāca | adhyardhaguṇam āhur yaṃ bale śaurye ca keśava | pitrā tvayā ca dāśārha dṛptaṃ siṃham ivotkaṭam ||
Gandhārī said: “O Keśava, they used to declare him superior by a half again in strength and in valor. O Dāśārha, he was reared by his father and by you, proud and formidable—like an enraged lion.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic irony of worldly excellence: even those praised for extraordinary strength and valor fall in war. It frames heroism within the moral cost of conflict and the inevitability of loss, a key ethical atmosphere of the Strīparvan’s laments.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Gandhārī addresses Kṛṣṇa directly, recalling the formidable prowess of the fallen and emphasizing how such a lion-like warrior—nurtured by his father and supported by Kṛṣṇa—has nevertheless been brought down, intensifying her grief and reproachful sorrow.