Shloka 13
Strī-parva Adhyāya 22 — Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Lament for the Fallen (Āvantya, Bāhlika, Jayadratha, and Duḥśalā)
दुःशलां मानयद्धिस्तु तदा मुक्तो जयद्रथ: । कथमटद्य न तां कृष्ण मानयन्ति सम ते पुनः,जनार्दन! जिस दिन जयद्रथ द्रौपदीको हरकर केकयोंके साथ भागा था, उसी दिन यह पाण्डवोंके द्वारा वध्य हो गया था; परंतु उस समय दुःशलाका सम्मान करते हुए उन्होंने जयद्रथको जीवित छोड़ दिया था! श्रीकृष्ण! उन्हीं पाण्डवोंने आज फिर क्यों नहीं उसका सम्मान किया?
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
duḥśalāṃ mānayad dhiṣṭu tadā mukto jayadrathaḥ | katham adya na tāṃ kṛṣṇa mānayanti samā te punaḥ janārdana ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Indeed, it was out of regard for Duḥśalā that Jayadratha was released on that earlier occasion. O Kṛṣṇa, O Janārdana—how is it that those very Pāṇḍavas today do not again show her the same respect?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic tension: even amid justified anger and warfare, ethical restraint can arise from honoring relationships and protecting the dignity of innocents (here, Duḥśalā). It questions consistency in moral conduct—why compassion shown earlier is not shown again.
The narrator reports a pointed question addressed to Kṛṣṇa: Jayadratha had once been spared because the Pāṇḍavas wished to honor Duḥśalā, but now they do not extend that same consideration. The line frames a moral inquiry about changing circumstances and the limits of mercy in war.