Shloka 26
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
नूनमेषा पुरा बाला जीवमाने महीभुजे । भुजावाश्रित्य रमते सुभुजस्य मनस्विनी,“पहले जब राजा दुर्योधन जीवित था, तब निश्चय ही यह मनस्विनी बाला सुन्दर बाहोंवाले अपने वीर पतिकी दोनों भुजाओंका आश्रय लेकर इसी तरह उसके साथ सानन्द क्रीड़ा करती रही होगी
nūnam eṣā purā bālā jīvamāne mahībhuje | bhujāv āśritya ramate subhujasya manasvinī |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Sesungguhnya, ketika tuan bumi itu masih hidup, wanita muda yang berjiwa tinggi ini—bersandar pada lengan suaminya yang gagah dan elok—tentu pernah menikmati keriangan kasih suami isteri bersamanya dengan cara yang sama.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: lawful marital happiness, once a sign of household dharma, becomes a painful recollection after destruction. It implicitly critiques the ethical blindness that leads to conflict by showing its intimate aftermath—bereavement and the collapse of ordinary joys.
Vaiśampāyana describes a bereaved woman (in the context of the women’s lament in the Strī-parvan) and imagines how, when Duryodhana was alive, she would have leaned on her husband’s arms and enjoyed conjugal play. The narration intensifies the scene’s pathos by contrasting past intimacy with present loss.