Shloka 18
Strī-parva Adhyāya 22 — Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Lament for the Fallen (Āvantya, Bāhlika, Jayadratha, and Duḥśalā)
त॑ मत्तमिव मातजुूं वीरं॑ परमदुर्जयम् । परिवार्य रुदन्त्येताः स्त्रियश्षुन्द्रोपमानना:
taṁ mattam iva mātajuṁ vīraṁ paramadurjayam | parivārya rudanty etāḥ striyaḥ śūndropamānanāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Encircling that hero—like one maddened, a mighty warrior exceedingly hard to overcome—those women, their faces darkened and disfigured by grief, wept aloud around him. The scene underscores how war’s vaunted heroism ends in helpless suffering for the innocent, as the bereaved confront the ruin left by violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of war: even the most formidable warrior becomes an object of lament, and the suffering of women and families exposes the hollowness of victory when dharma is eclipsed by violence.
In the Stree Parva’s mourning episodes, women gather around a fallen or afflicted hero, surrounding him and weeping; their grief is visible in their darkened, sorrow-worn faces.