Shloka 8

Gāndhārī’s Lament and the Identification of Duḥśāsana (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १८)

Devanagari script

मध्यमानां तु नारीणां वृद्धानां चापराजित । आक्रन्दं हतबन्धूनां दारुणे वैशसे शृणु,अपराजित वीर! इस दारुण संग्राममें जिनके बन्धु-बान्धव मारे गये हैं, उन अधेड़ और बूढ़ी स्त्रियोंका यह करुणाजनक क्रन्दन सुनो

Transliteration

madhyamānāṁ tu nārīṇāṁ vṛddhānāṁ cāparājita | ākrandaṁ hatabandhūnāṁ dāruṇe vaiśase śṛṇu ||

Translation

അപരാജിത വീരാ! ഈ ദാരുണ സംഹാരത്തിൽ ബന്ധുക്കൾ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ട മധ്യവയസ്സുകാരിയും വൃദ്ധയുമായ സ്ത്രീകളുടെ ഹൃദയഭേദകമായ വിലാപം കേൾക്കുക.

Word by Word

मध्यमानाम्of middle-aged (women)

तुbut/indeed

नारीणाम्of women

वृद्धानाम्of old (women)

चand

अपराजितO Unconquered one (Aparājita)

आक्रन्दम्lamentation/cry

हतबन्धूनाम्of those whose kinsmen are slain

दारुणेin the dreadful

वैशसेin the slaughter/massacre

शृणुhear/listen

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Aparājita

middle-aged women

elderly women

slain kinsmen

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 foregrounds the human cost of war: beyond victory and defeat, dharma must reckon with the suffering of innocents—especially the bereaved—inviting compassion and moral reflection on violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Strī Parva’s post-war setting, Vaiśampāyana directs the listener (addressed as ‘Aparājita’) to attend to the anguished cries of middle-aged and elderly women whose relatives have been killed in the massacre-like aftermath of the great battle.