Shloka 9
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
स भूत्वा शरणं वीरो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य माधव । भूमौ विनिहत: शेते वातभग्न इव द्रुम:,माधव! जिससे निरन्तर उद्विग्न रहनेके कारण धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरको चिन्ताके मारे तेरह वर्षोतक नींद नहीं आयी, जो युद्धस्थलमें इन्द्रके समान शत्रुओंके लिये अजेय था, प्रलयंकर अग्निके समान तेजस्वी और हिमालयके समान निश्चल था, वही वीर कर्ण धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधनके लिये शरणदाता हो मारा जाकर आँधीसे टूटकर पड़े हुए वृक्षके समान धराशायी हो गया है
sa bhūtvā śaraṇaṃ vīro dhārtarāṣṭrasya mādhava | bhūmau vinihataḥ śete vātabhagna iva drumaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O Mādhava, that hero—having become a refuge and protector for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son—now lies slain upon the earth, like a tree broken by a violent wind. The verse underscores the tragic reversal of war: even the mightiest, who once served as another’s shield, is reduced to stillness, reminding the listener of the fragility of power and the ruin that follows adharma-driven ambition.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collapse of worldly strength and protection in the face of death: a warrior who served as a ‘refuge’ for an unjust cause ultimately falls, illustrating the impermanence of power and the destructive end of adharma-driven conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes to Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) that a great hero who had been the main support of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son now lies dead on the battlefield, compared to a tree snapped by a storm—an image typical of the Stree Parva’s grief-filled recounting of the fallen.