Shloka 27
स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च
Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse
मधुसूदन! रणभूमिमें स्थित होकर शत्रुओंके साथ जूझनेवाले अपने पिताका साथ इसने कभी नहीं छोड़ा था, आज युद्धके बाद भी वह पिताको नहीं छोड़ सका है ।। एवं ममापि पुत्रस्य पुत्र: पितरमन्वगात् । दुर्योधनं महाबाहो लक्ष्मण: परवीरहा,महाबाहो! इसी प्रकार मेरे पुत्रके पुत्र शत्रुवीर-हन्ता लक्ष्मणने भी अपने पिता दुर्योधनका अनुसरण किया है
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
madhu-sūdana! raṇabhūmau sthitaḥ śatrubhiḥ saha yudhyamānaḥ saḥ pituḥ saha kadācana na vyayujyata; adya yuddhānte 'pi sa pitaram parityaktuṃ na śaśāka ||
evaṃ mamāpi putrasya putraḥ pitaram anvagāt |
duryodhanaṃ mahābāho lakṣmaṇaḥ paravīrahā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Madhusūdana, while standing on the battlefield and grappling with the enemy, he never once separated from his father; and even now, after the war has ended, he has not been able to leave his father. In the same way, O mighty-armed one, my son’s son—Lakṣmaṇa, slayer of enemy-heroes—has followed his father Duryodhana.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the powerful pull of filial attachment and loyalty: a son who would not abandon his father in battle cannot abandon him even in death. It underscores the tragic ethical cost of war—valor and devotion within a family become inseparable from collective ruin.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Vaiśampāyana describes how a warrior remained inseparably with his father during combat and still clings to him after the war. He then parallels this with Lakṣmaṇa, Duryodhana’s son, who has ‘followed’ his father—i.e., met death in the same course and lies with him, emphasizing the annihilation of the Kaurava line.