Shloka 24

स्त्री-विलापः — गान्धार्याः रणभूमिदर्शनं शापवचनं च

Battlefield Lament and Gāndhārī’s Curse

Devanagari script

दाशार्हपुत्र॒जं वीरं शयानं सत्यविक्रमम्‌ | आरोप्याड्के रुदन्त्येताश्वेदिराजवराड़ना:

Transliteration

dāśārhaputrajaṃ vīraṃ śayānaṃ satyavikramam | āropya aṅke rudanty etāḥ śvedirājavarāṅganāḥ ||

Translation

വൈശംപായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ശ്വേദിരാജന്റെ ശ്രേഷ്ഠസ്ത്രീകൾ ദാശാർഹവംശജനായ ആ വീരനെ, സത്യവിക്രമത്തോടെ വീണുകിടന്നവനെ, മടിയിൽ എടുത്തുവെച്ച് കരഞ്ഞുതുടങ്ങി।

Word by Word

दाशार्हपुत्रजम्the son of the Dāśārhas (Kṛṣṇa)

वीरम्the hero

शयानम्lying (down)

सत्यविक्रमम्of true valor

आरोप्यhaving placed / having lifted (onto)

अङ्केon the lap

रुदन्तिthey weep

एताःthese (women)

श्वेदिराजवराङ्गनाःthe noble women of the Śvedi king (wives/ladies of Śveta/Śvedi ruler)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Dāśārha lineage (Yādavas)

Śvedi king (Śvedirāja)

Śvedi royal women (vara-aṅganāḥ)

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?

Even authentic heroism cannot prevent the suffering that war brings; the verse highlights compassion and the moral weight of caring for the fallen, reminding the listener that dharma includes honoring the dead and acknowledging the grief of survivors.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the great war, the Śvedi king’s noble women find a fallen warrior described as a Dāśārha’s son; they lift him onto their laps and weep over him, portraying the intimate, human dimension of battlefield loss.