Shloka 20
स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च
Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse
धृष्टकेतुं महात्मानं चेदिपुड़वमड़ना: | द्रोणेन निहतं शूरं हरन्ति हृतचेतस:,चेदिराज महामना शूरवीर धृष्टकेतुको जो द्रोणाचार्यके हाथसे मारा गया है, उसकी रानियाँ अचेत-सी होकर दाह-संस्कारके लिये ले जा रही हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
dhṛṣṭaketuṁ mahātmānaṁ cedipuṅgavam ardanāḥ |
droṇena nihataṁ śūraṁ haranti hṛtacetasaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The women, their minds stunned by grief, were carrying away the heroic Dhṛṣṭaketu—great-souled, foremost among the Cedis—who had been slain by Droṇa, in order to perform his final rites. The scene underscores the human cost of war: even the fall of a righteous and valiant king becomes a burden borne by the bereaved, where honor and duty persist amid overwhelming sorrow.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when war is framed by kṣatriya-dharma, its aftermath is measured in grief and shattered households. The verse highlights the ethical weight of violence: valor and victory do not erase the suffering of those left to perform the dead’s last rites.
After Dhṛṣṭaketu, the Cedi king, has been killed by Droṇa, his queens—overcome and mentally numb with sorrow—carry his body away for the funeral/cremation rites, as narrated by Vaiśampāyana.