Shloka 36
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
बाणैभिन्नतनुत्राणं धृष्टद्युम्नेन केशव । उपास्ते वै मृथे द्रोणं जटिला ब्रह्मबचारिणी,केशव! धृष्टद्युम्नने अपने बाणोंसे जिन आचार्य द्रोणका कवच छिजन्न-भिन्न कर दिया है, उन्हींके पास युद्धस्थलमें वह जटाधारिणी ब्रह्मचारिणी कृपी बैठी हुई है
Vaiśampāyana uvāca |
Bāṇair bhinna-tanutrāṇaṃ dhṛṣṭadyumnena Keśava |
Upāste vai mṛthe Droṇaṃ jaṭilā brahmacāriṇī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O Keśava, on the battlefield the ascetic lady Kṛpī—wearing matted locks and observing brahmacarya—sits close by Droṇa, whose armour has been torn and shattered by Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s arrows. The scene underscores the human cost of war: even the most renowned teacher, brought down in combat, becomes the object of a grieving wife’s austere vigil amid the carnage.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional aftermath of warfare: victory and vengeance culminate in intimate scenes of loss, where dharma is tested not only in combat but in how one confronts suffering, mortality, and compassion for the fallen.
After Droṇa has been brought down in battle—his armour shattered by Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s arrows—his wife Kṛpī, described as an ascetic (jaṭilā, brahmacāriṇī), sits near him on the battlefield in a vigil of grief.