Shloka 9
Gāndhārī’s Lament and the Identification of Duḥśāsana (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १८)
रथनीडानि देहांश्व॒ हतानां गजवाजिनाम् । आश्रित्य श्रममोहार्ता: स्थिता: पश्य महाभुज,महाबाहो! देखो, ये स्त्रियाँ परिश्रम और मोहसे पीड़ित हो टूटे हुए रथोंकी बैठकों तथा मारे गये हाथी-घोड़ोंकी लाशोंका सहारा लेकर खड़ी हैं
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: rathanīḍāni dehāṃś ca hatānāṃ gajavājinām āśritya śramamohārtāḥ sthitāḥ paśya mahābhuja, mahābāho.
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai yang berlengan perkasa, lihatlah: wanita-wanita ini, ditimpa keletihan dan kebingungan, berdiri bersandar pada tempat duduk kereta perang yang hancur dan pada jasad gajah serta kuda yang terbunuh.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the human cost of war: even victory leaves a landscape of death and the living—especially the vulnerable—are left stunned, exhausted, and forced to seek support amid wreckage. It implicitly calls for compassion and moral reflection on violence.
In the Strī Parva’s post-war setting, the narrator points out women on the battlefield who, overwhelmed by fatigue and shock, are standing by leaning on broken chariot structures and the bodies of slain elephants and horses—an image of devastation and mourning.