Shloka 17
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
भार्या यूपध्वजस्यैषा करसम्मितमध्यमा । कृत्वोत्सड़े भुजं भर्तु: कृपणं परिदेवति,श्रीकृष्ण! देखो, यूपध्वजकी यह पतली कमरवाली भार्या पतिकी कटी हुई बाँहको गोदमें लेकर बड़े दीनभावसे विलाप कर रही है
bhāryā yūpadhvajasya eṣā karasammita-madhyamā | kṛtvotsṛḍe bhujaṃ bhartuḥ kṛpaṇaṃ paridevati |
Vaiśampāyana said: “This is the wife of Yūpadhvaja, slender-waisted. Taking her husband’s severed arm upon her lap, she laments piteously—an image of the war’s cruel aftermath, where the cost of violence is borne not only by the fallen but by those who must grieve them.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the human cost of war: beyond heroic narratives, violence leaves families shattered. It evokes compassion and ethical reflection on the suffering inflicted on innocents who must live with loss.
In the Strī Parva’s survey of the battlefield aftermath, Vaiśampāyana points out Yūpadhvaja’s wife. She holds her husband’s severed arm in her lap and cries out in grief, illustrating the pervasive mourning among women after the slaughter.