Shloka 116

Devanagari script

गान्धारी सर्वधर्मज्ञा तान्यलीकानि शुश्रुवे । समयके उलट-फेरको समझने और समस्त धर्मोको जाननेवाली बुद्धिमती गान्धारी देवीने भी इन कठोर वचनोंको सुना था

Transliteration

gāndhārī sarvadharmajñā tāny alīkāni śuśruve |

Translation

ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਸਰਬ ਧਰਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਜਾਣਕਾਰ ਬੁੱਧਿਮਤੀ ਗਾਂਧਾਰੀ ਨੇ ਵੀ ਉਹ ਝੂਠੇ ਤੇ ਕਠੋਰ ਬਚਨ ਸੁਣੇ। ਉਸ ਨੇ ਠੀਕ ਮਰਯਾਦਾ ਦੇ ਉਲਟ-ਫੇਰ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਅੰਦਰਲੇ ਧਰਮ-ਭ੍ਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਫ਼ ਪਛਾਣ ਲਿਆ।

Word by Word

गान्धारीGandhari

सर्वधर्मज्ञाknower of all dharmas

तानिthose (things/words)

अलीकानिfalse, untrue

शुश्रुवेheard

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Gandhārī

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical discernment: a truly dharma-knowing person recognizes and endures false or improper speech without losing sight of righteousness, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s concern with truth (satya) and responsible speech.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, Gandhārī is described as hearing certain untrue (and contextually harsh) statements being spoken; the line emphasizes her wisdom and moral awareness as she witnesses the situation.