Shloka 5
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
दिष्ट्या यूपध्वजं पुत्र वीर॑ भूरिसहस्रदम् । अनेकक्रतुयज्वानं निहतं नानुपश्यसि
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | diṣṭyā yūpadhvajaṃ putra vīra bhūrisahasradam | anekakratuyajvānaṃ nihataṃ nānupaśyasi ||
“മകനേ, ഭാഗ്യവശാൽ നീ ആ വീരനായ യൂപധ്വജനെ—ആയിരങ്ങളോളം ദാനം നൽകിയവനെയും അനേകം ക്രതുയാഗങ്ങൾ അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചവനെയും—നിഹതനായി കിടക്കുന്നതു കാണുന്നില്ല.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts worldly merit—generosity and repeated sacrificial performance—with the harsh finality of war: even the highly meritorious can be cut down. It also frames compassionately that being spared the sight of a noble person’s corpse is itself a kind of ‘good fortune,’ highlighting the ethical horror and emotional cost of violence.
In the Stree Parva’s lamentation setting after the great war, Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a fallen warrior named Yūpadhvaja, praised for lavish gifts and many sacrifices, and remarks that the addressed person does not have to witness him lying slain.