Mahabharata 11.13.15 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 15
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
इदानीं त्वहमव्यग्रो गतमन्युर्गतज्वर: । मध्यमं पाण्डवं वीर द्रष्टमेच्छामि माधव
idānīṁ tv aham avyagro gatamanyur gatajvaraḥ | madhyamaṁ pāṇḍavaṁ vīra draṣṭum icchāmi mādhava ||
“माधवा! आता मी शांत व निर्व्यग्र आहे. माझा क्रोध उतरला आहे आणि व्याकुळताही गेली आहे; म्हणून मला मध्यम पांडव, वीर अर्जुनाला पाहायचे आहे.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical necessity of mastering anger and inner agitation before seeking dialogue or encounter. Composure (avyagra) and the cooling of wrath (gata-manyu) are presented as prerequisites for a clear, dharmic intention—here, the wish to meet Arjuna without being driven by rage or turmoil.
In the Stree Parva’s post-war setting, the speaker declares that his earlier anger and distress have subsided and expresses a desire to see the ‘middle Pāṇḍava,’ identified as Arjuna, addressing Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa). This signals a shift from heated emotion toward a deliberate meeting in the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra catastrophe.
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