Shloka 8
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
श्वापदैर्भक्ष्यममाणं त्वमहो दिष्ट्या न पश्यसि । छिन्नबाहुं नरव्याप्रमर्जुनेन निपातितम्,“अहो! आपका बड़ा भाग्य है कि अर्जुनने जिसकी एक बाँह काट ली थी और सात्यकिने जिसे मार गिराया था, युद्धमें मारे गये उस भूरिश्रवा और शलको आप हिंसक जन्तुओंका आहार बनते नहीं देखते हैं तथा इन सब अनेक प्रकारके रूप-रंगवाली पुत्रवधुओंको भी आज यहाँ रणभूमिमें भटकती हुई नहीं देख रहे हैं
śvāpadair bhakṣyamamāṇaṃ tvam aho diṣṭyā na paśyasi | chinnabāhuṃ naravyāghram arjunena nipātitam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “By good fortune you do not have to witness him being devoured by wild beasts—the tiger among men whose arm was cut off and who was struck down by Arjuna. The line underscores the moral horror of war: even the mighty, once fallen, become helpless bodies on a field where dignity is stripped away, and the living are spared only by not having to see such degradation.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dehumanizing aftermath of war: heroic identity and bodily integrity collapse into vulnerability, and ‘good fortune’ may simply mean being spared the sight of such suffering. It implicitly critiques the cost of violence beyond victory—dishonor, decay, and the moral shock borne by survivors.
Vaiśampāyana describes a fallen warrior—his arm severed and himself brought down by Arjuna—who would otherwise lie on the battlefield as prey for scavengers. The statement is framed as a grim consolation: the listener is ‘fortunate’ not to witness this scene.