Shloka 30
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
स्वशिर: पठचशाखाभ्यामभिहत्यायतेक्षणा । पतत्युरसि वीरस्य कुरुराजस्य माधव,“पता नहीं, यह मनस्विनी बहू पुत्रके लिये शोक करती है या पतिके लिये? कुछ ऐसी ही अवस्थामें वह जान पड़ती है। माधव! वह देखो, वह विशाललोचना वधू पुत्रकी ओर देखकर दोनों हाथोंसे सिर पीटती हुई अपने वीर पति कुरुराजकी छातीपर गिर पड़ी है
svāśiraḥ pāṇiśākhābhyām abhihatya āyatākṣaṇā | pataty urasi vīrasya kururājasya mādhava ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Mādhava, olha—esta noiva de grandes olhos, depois de golpear a própria cabeça com ambos os antebraços em sua dor, desaba sobre o peito de seu esposo heroico, o rei dos Kurus. É difícil saber se o seu pranto é pelo filho ou pelo marido; assim ela se mostra em sua angústia.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the human cost of war: dharma is not only debated in councils and battlefields but also felt in the intimate devastation of families. It evokes compassion and ethical reflection on violence and its irreversible consequences.
In the mourning scenes of the Strī Parva, a bereaved noblewoman, overwhelmed by grief, beats her head with her arms and falls upon the chest of her slain husband, the Kuru king, while Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) is addressed as a witness to this tragedy.