Shloka 44
स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च
Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse
त्वमप्युपस्थिते वर्षे षट्त्रिंशे मधुसूदन । हतज्ञातिहतामात्यो हतपुत्रो वनेचर:,मधुसूदन! आजसे छत्तीसवाँ वर्ष उपस्थित होनेपर तुम्हारे कुटुम्बी, मनन््त्री और पुत्र सभी आपसमें लड़कर मर जायँगे। तुम सबसे अपरिचित और लोगोंकी आँखोंसे ओझल होकर अनाथके समान वनमें विचरोगे और किसी निन्दित उपायसे मृत्युको प्राप्त होओगे
tvam apy upasthite varṣe ṣaṭtriṃśe madhusūdana | hatajñātihatāmātyo hataputro vane-caraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “You too, O Madhusūdana, when the thirty-sixth year arrives, will have your kinsmen slain and your ministers destroyed; your son will be dead. Then, unknown to all and hidden from people’s sight, you will wander in the forest like one without refuge, and you will meet death by a censured means.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most powerful are not exempt from the consequences that unfold after great violence: the verse underscores impermanence and the moral weight of war’s aftermath, where loss, isolation, and a socially ‘censured’ end can befall anyone, reminding listeners to reflect on dharma and restraint.
Vaiśampāyana reports a foretelling addressed to Kṛṣṇa (Madhusūdana): when a specified future time (the thirty-sixth year) arrives, Kṛṣṇa will suffer the destruction of his kin and ministers, lose his son, live in obscurity wandering the forest, and finally die through a blameworthy or disapproved circumstance.