Shloka 1
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
#िला (0) आस अन+- चतुर्विशो$ध्याय: भूरिश्रवाके पास उसकी पत्नियोंका विलाप, उन सबको तथा शकुनिको देखकर गान्धारीका श्रीकृष्णके सम्मुख शोकोद्गार गान्धायुवाच सोमदत्तसुतं पश्य युयुधानेन पातितम् । वितुद्यमानं विहगैर्बहुभिर्माधवान्तिके,गान्धारी बोलीं--माधव! देखो, सात्यकिने जिन्हें मार गिराया था, वे ही ये सोमदत्तके पुत्र भूरिश्रवा पास ही दिखायी दे रहे हैं। इन्हें बहुत-से पक्षी चोंच मार-मारकर नोच रहे हैं
gāndhārī uvāca | somadattasutaṃ paśya yuyudhānena pātitam | vitudyamānaṃ vihagair bahubhir mādhavāntike ||
Gāndhārī said: “O Mādhava, look at Somadatta’s son—Bhūriśravas—lying here, struck down by Yuyudhāna. Near you he is being pecked and torn by many birds.” In this lament, the queen points to the indignity that follows slaughter in war: even a renowned warrior’s body becomes prey, intensifying grief and raising implicit questions about the moral cost of victory and the limits of righteous conduct amid vengeance and chaos.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tragic ethical residue of war: beyond the act of killing, there is the humiliation and suffering that follow, which deepen sorrow and invite reflection on how quickly honor and bodily dignity vanish on the battlefield—pressing the listener to consider the moral limits of violence even when framed as duty.
In the Strī Parva’s scene of mourning, Gāndhārī addresses Kṛṣṇa and points out Bhūriśravas, Somadatta’s son, who has been slain by Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki). She describes his corpse lying nearby, being pecked by many birds, as part of her grief-filled reproach and lament over the war’s devastation.