Shloka 6

Devanagari script

“जिसकी ध्वजामें यूपका चिह्न था, जो सहसों स्वर्ण-मुद्राओंकी भूरि-भूरि दक्षिणा दिया करता था और जिसने अनेक यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान पूरा कर लिया था, उस वीर पुत्र भूरिश्रवाकी मृत्युका कष्ट सौभाग्यसे आप नहीं देख रहे हैं ।। दिष्ट्या स्नुषाणामाक्रन्दे घोरं विलपितं बहु न शृणोषि महाराज सारसीनामिवार्णवे,“महाराज! समुद्रतटपर चीत्कार करनेवाली सारसियोंके समान इस युद्धस्थलमें आप अपने इन पुत्रवधुओंका अत्यन्त भयानक विलाप नहीं सुन रहे हैं, यह भाग्यकी ही बात है

Transliteration

dhiṣṭyā snuṣāṇām ākrande ghoraṁ vilapitaṁ bahu | na śṛṇoṣi mahārāja sārasīnām ivārṇave ||

Translation

By good fortune, O great king, you do not hear the dreadful, profuse lamentation and wailing of your daughters-in-law—like the cries of female cranes upon the seashore. It is a mercy of fate that this terrible sound of grief does not reach you.

Word by Word

दिष्ट्याfortunately; by good luck

स्नुषाणाम्of the daughters-in-law

आक्रन्देin the wailing/crying

घोरम्terrible

विलपितम्lamentation; that which is lamented

बहुmuch; greatly

नnot

शृणोषिyou hear

महाराजO great king

सारसीनाम्of the female cranes

इवlike; as if

अर्णवेin the ocean

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)

snuṣāḥ (the daughters-in-law of the Kuru house)

sārasī (female cranes)

arṇava (ocean/sea)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral and psychological aftermath of war: beyond victory and loss on the battlefield lies the unbearable suffering of families—especially widows. It also highlights the role of fate (daiva) in shielding a person from directly hearing or witnessing certain horrors, suggesting that not all suffering is equally bearable to perceive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes to the king that the battlefield is filled with the terrifying cries of the slain warriors’ wives (daughters-in-law of the royal house). He remarks that it is ‘fortunate’ the king does not hear their intense wailing, comparing it to the piercing cries of female cranes on the seashore.