Shloka 4
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
यं सम पाण्डवसंत्रासान्मम पुत्रा महारथा: । प्रायुध्यन्त पुरस्कृत्य मातज्रा इव यूथपम्,पाणए्डुपुत्र अर्जुनके डरसे मेरे महारथी पुत्र जिसे आगे करके यूथयतिको आगे रखकर लड़नेवाले हाथियोंके समान पाण्डव-सेनाके साथ युद्ध करते थे, उसी वीरको सव्यसाची अर्जुनने समरांगणमें उसी तरह मार डाला है, जैसे एक सिंहने दूसरे सिंहको तथा एक मतवाले हाथीने दूसरे मदोन्मत्त गजराजको मार गिराया हो
yaṁ sama-pāṇḍava-saṁtrāsān mama putrā mahārathāḥ | prāyudhyanta puraskṛtya mātangā iva yūthapam ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: The very hero whom my sons—great chariot-warriors—used to place in the forefront and fight behind, as elephants rallying around their herd-leader, and by whose presence the Pāṇḍavas were struck with fear—him Savyasācī Arjuna has slain on the battlefield, as a lion fells another lion, or as a musth elephant brings down a rival lord of elephants.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how even the most relied-upon champions—those set at the very front as protectors and sources of confidence—can fall in war. It highlights the fragility of martial power and the tragic inevitability that fuels the Stree Parva’s ethical reflection on violence and loss.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a key battlefield reversal: a formidable warrior, formerly advanced by the Kauravas as their spearhead and a terror to the Pāṇḍavas, has been killed by Arjuna. The event is intensified through animal similes (lion vs lion; musth elephant vs musth elephant) to convey equal strength and decisive defeat.