Mahabharata 11.23.37 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 23, Shloka 37

Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)

Devanagari script

प्रेतकृत्यं च यतते कृपी कृपणमातुरा । हतस्य समरे भर्तु: सुकुमारी यशस्विनी,शोकसे दीन और आतुर हुई यशस्विनी सुकुमारी कृपी समरमें मारे गये पतिदेवका प्रेतकर्म करनेकी चेष्टा कर रही है

Transliteration

pretakṛtyaṃ ca yatate kṛpī kṛpaṇamāturā | hatasya samare bhartuḥ sukumārī yaśasvinī ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。悲嘆に打ちひしがれ、焦燥にかられながらも、柔らかく名高いクリピーは、戦で討たれた夫のために死者の儀礼（プレータ・クリヤー）を営もうと努めた。

Word by Word

• प्रेतकृत्यम्: funeral rite (rite for the dead)
• प्रेतकृत्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेतकृत्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यतते: strives / makes an effort
• Type: Verb
• Root: यत् (यतते)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• कृपी: Kripi
• कृपी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृपी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कृपणम्: wretched / pitiable
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृपण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आतुरा: distressed / afflicted
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आतुर
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• हतस्य: of the slain
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत (√हन्)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• भर्तुः: of (her) husband
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सुकुमारी: delicate / tender
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुकुमारि/सुकुमारी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• यशस्विनी: glorious / renowned
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यशस्विन्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Kṛpī
• Kṛpī's husband (Droṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid unbearable grief, dharma persists as a lived responsibility: honoring the dead through proper rites (pretakṛtya/antyeṣṭi) affirms human dignity, social order, and the ethical obligation of survivors to those who have fallen.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the war’s aftermath, Kṛpī—described as gentle, renowned, and deeply distressed—tries to carry out the funerary rites for her husband who was killed in battle, highlighting the personal cost of the conflict and the continuation of ritual duty amid devastation.