Shloka 12
Gāndhārī’s Petition for a Vision of the Departed (गान्धार्याः प्रार्थना—दिव्यदर्शनप्रसङ्गः)
यत्रादहत् स भगवान् मातरं सव्यसाचिन: । कृत्वा यो ब्राह्मणच्छद्म भिक्षार्थी समुपागत:
yatrādahat sa bhagavān mātaraṃ savyasācinaḥ | kṛtvā yo brāhmaṇacchadma bhikṣārthī samupāgataḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Di tempat itulah Yang Mulia membakar ibu Savyasācin (Arjuna)—setelah menyamar sebagai seorang brāhmaṇa dan datang menghampiri seolah-olah meminta sedekah.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between outward appearance and inner intent: a brāhmaṇa-like guise used to gain access and cause harm. It implicitly warns that dharma cannot be judged by costume or social markers alone, and it underscores the tragic moral fallout that continues even after the war.
Yudhiṣṭhira points to a specific location and recalls a grievous event: Arjuna’s mother was burned there by a powerful figure who approached under the pretense of being a brāhmaṇa mendicant seeking alms. The line functions as a remembered accusation or identification of the scene of the crime.