Shloka 15
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीविलापः
Strī Parva — Gāndhārī’s Lament over the Fallen
शरसंकृत्तवर्माणं वीरं॑ विशसने हतम् । परिवायसिते गृश्रा: पश्य कृष्ण विविंशतिम्,श्रीकृष्ण! देखो, बाणोंसे इसका कवच छिजत्न-भिन्न हो गया है। युद्धमें मारे गये इस वीर विविंशतिको गीध चारों ओरसे घेरकर बैठे हैं
śara-saṅkṛtta-varmāṇaṁ vīraṁ viśasane hatam | parivāyasite gṛdhrāḥ paśya kṛṣṇa viviṁśatim ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Behold, O Kṛṣṇa—this hero Viviṁśati, slain on the battlefield, has had his armor shredded and cut apart by arrows. Vultures sit all around him, encircling the fallen.” The verse starkly underscores the moral cost of war: even the valiant meet a grim end, and the battlefield reduces glory to a scene of impermanence and desecration, prompting sober reflection rather than triumph.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh truth of war: valor and status cannot prevent a degrading end. It invites ethical reflection on violence and the transient nature of bodily glory, aligning with the Strī Parva’s broader lamentation over the war’s devastation.
The narrator points out to Kṛṣṇa the corpse of the warrior Viviṁśati on the battlefield—his armor torn apart by arrows—while vultures encircle him, emphasizing the grim aftermath of combat.