Shloka 25
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
पहले सोनेके डंडोंसे विभूषित दो-दो व्यजनोंद्वारा जिसको हवा की जाती थी, वही शकुनि आज धरतीपर सो रहा है और पक्षी अपनी पाँखोंसे इसको हवा करते हैं ।। यः स्वरूपाणि कुरुते शतशो5थ सहस्रश: । तस्य मायाविनो माया दग्धा: पाण्डवतेजसा,जो अपने सैकड़ों और हजारों रूप बना लिया करता था, उस मायावीकी सारी मायाएँ पाण्डुपुत्र सहदेवके तेजसे दग्ध हो गयीं
pūrvam suvarṇa-daṇḍaiḥ vibhūṣitaiḥ dvi-dvi-vyajanaiḥ yasya vāyur dīyate sma, sa eva śakuniḥ adya pṛthivyāṃ suptaḥ; pakṣiṇaś ca asya pakṣaiḥ enam vāyayanti. yaḥ svarūpāṇi kurute śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ, tasya māyāvinaḥ māyāḥ dagdhāḥ pāṇḍava-tejasā (sahadevena).
Vaiśampāyana said: Formerly, Shakuni was fanned by pairs of yak-tail fans adorned with golden handles; today that same man lies upon the bare earth, and birds fan him with their wings. He who used to assume hundreds and even thousands of forms—every artifice of that master of illusion has been burned away by the Pandava’s splendor, namely Sahadeva’s prowess. The verse underscores the moral reversal brought by war: worldly luxury and cunning cannot withstand righteous valor, and pride in deception ends in humiliation and ruin.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the fragility of worldly privilege and the inevitable collapse of deceit: one who relied on luxury and illusion ends on the ground, his stratagems rendered powerless before righteous strength and the consequences of his actions.
Vaiśampāyana describes Shakuni’s fallen state after the war: once attended with ornate fans, he now lies on the earth while birds fan him. His famed ability to assume many forms—symbolizing cunning and deception—is said to have been destroyed by the Pandava Sahadeva’s tejas, recalling Sahadeva’s slaying of Shakuni.