Shloka 53

Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity

Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27

Devanagari script

वीरपत्नीभिराकीर्ण गज़ातीरमशो भत । महासागरके समान विशाल वह गंगातट आनन्द और उत्सवसे शून्य होनेपर भी उन वीर-पत्नियोंसे व्याप्त होनेके कारण बड़ी शोभा पाने लगा

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | vīrapatnībhiḥ ākīrṇaṃ gaṅgātīram aśobhat | mahāsāgarakasamaṃ viśālaṃ tad gaṅgātaṭam ānanda-utsavaśūnyaṃ api vīrapatnībhiḥ vyāptaṃ sat mahatyā śobhāṃ prāpa |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: The bank of the Gaṅgā, crowded with the wives of fallen heroes, appeared striking. Vast like the great ocean, that broad riverbank—though emptied of joy and festivity—still gained a grave splendor because it was filled with those heroic women, whose presence turned mourning itself into a solemn testimony to the cost of war.

Word by Word

वीरपत्नीभिःby/with the wives of heroes

आकीर्णःfilled, crowded

गङ्गातीरम्the bank of the Ganga

अशोभतshone, appeared splendid

महासागरकेof the great ocean

समानःlike, equal to

विशालःvast, expansive

सःthat, he/it (that bank)

गङ्गातटःthe Ganga’s shore

आनन्दोत्सवशून्यःdevoid of joy and festivity

अपिeven though, although

ताभिःby/with them (those women)

व्याप्तत्वात्because of being pervaded/filled

शोभाम्splendour, beauty

लेभेobtained, attained

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Gaṅgā (river)

Gaṅgā riverbank (tīra/taṭa)

vīrapatnīs (wives/widows of warriors)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of war: even when victory is claimed, the visible presence of widows turns the landscape into a moral reminder of loss. It suggests that true assessment of action (dharma) must include its human cost, not merely its political outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Strī Parva’s mourning context, the Gaṅgā’s broad bank is described as being filled with the wives of slain warriors. Though the place lacks joy and celebration, it attains a solemn, poignant splendor because of the gathered women and their grief.