Shloka 14
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
सा वर्तमाना पतिता पृथिव्या- मुत्थाय दीना पुनरेव चैषा | कर्णस्य वक्त्र॑ परिजिपम्रमाणा रोख्यते पुत्रवधाभितप्ता
sā vartamānā patitā pṛthivyām utthāya dīnā punar eva caiṣā | karṇasya vaktraṃ parijihvamramāṇā roṣyate putravadha-abhitaptā ||
As she moved about, she fell upon the ground. Rising again in misery, she once more began to lament—her face contorted and her tongue faltering—burning with anguish over the slaughter of her sons. The verse underscores how war’s violence does not end on the battlefield: it ripples into the lives of the bereaved, where grief overwhelms speech and dignity alike.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral cost of war: victory cannot erase the suffering of those who lose their children. It presents grief as a force that breaks composure and even coherent speech, reminding readers that violence produces enduring, ethically weighty consequences beyond the battlefield.
In the aftermath of the great war, a bereaved woman—overwhelmed by the killing of her sons—collapses to the ground, rises again, and continues wailing. Her face is distorted and her speech becomes faltering, showing the intensity of her sorrow.