Shloka 19
स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation
सर्वे वेदविद: शूरा: सर्वे सुचरितव्रता: । सर्वे चाभिमुखा: क्षीणास्तत्र का परिदेवना,'वे सभी वीर वेदवेत्ता और अच्छी तरह ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करनेवाले थे। वे सब-के- सब शत्रुओंका सामना करते हुए मारे गये थे; अतः उनके लिये शोक करनेकी क्या आवश्यकता है?
sarve vedavidaḥ śūrāḥ sarve sucaritavratāḥ | sarve cābhimukhāḥ kṣīṇās tatra kā paridevanā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “All of them were knowers of the Vedas and valiant heroes; all were men of well-observed vows and disciplined conduct. All of them fell while facing the foe in the forefront; therefore, what cause is there here for lamentation?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames heroic death in righteous combat—facing the enemy and upholding learning and vows—as an honorable end, suggesting that excessive lamentation is ethically misplaced when the fallen have met death in accordance with warrior-duty and disciplined life.
In the aftermath of the great war, the speaker characterizes the slain as brave, Veda-knowing, vow-observant men who died confronting the foe, using this description to question the need for continued mourning.