Shloka 26
स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च
Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse
हृषीकेश! देखो तो सही, इस धृष्टकेतुके सुन्दर मुख और मनोहर कुण्डलोंवाले पुत्रको द्रोणाचार्यने समरांगणमें अपने बाणोंद्वारा मारकर उसके अनेक टुकड़े कर डाले हैं ।। पितरं नूनमाजिस्थं युद्धयमानं परै: सह । नाजहात् पितरं वीरमद्यापि मधुसूदन
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
hṛṣīkeśa! paśya tāvat, asya dhṛṣṭaketos sundara-mukhasya manohara-kuṇḍalinas putrasya droṇācāryeṇa samara-aṅgaṇe svabāṇair hatvā bahudhā khaṇḍīkṛtaṃ śarīram |
pitaraṃ nūnam āji-sthaṃ yudhyamānaṃ paraiḥ saha |
nājahāt pitaraṃ vīram adyāpi madhusūdana ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Hṛṣīkeśa, look—Drona, on the battlefield, has slain with his arrows this son of Dhṛṣṭaketu, whose face was beautiful and whose earrings were charming, and has cut his body into many pieces. Surely, O Madhusūdana, even now he did not abandon his heroic father who stood in the thick of battle, fighting together against the foes.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical poignancy of war: even noble qualities like loyalty to one’s father and courage in battle can culminate in tragic destruction. It underscores how the battlefield consumes virtue and vice alike, intensifying the lament central to the Strī Parva.
Vaiśampāyana describes a specific casualty of the war: Droṇa has killed Dhṛṣṭaketu’s son with arrows, leaving him in pieces. The speaker emphasizes that the son did not abandon his father in the fight, portraying him as steadfast and heroic even in death.