Shloka 16
स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीविलापः
Strī Parva — Gāndhārī’s Lament over the Fallen
प्रविश्य समरे शूर: पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम् | स वीरशयमने शेते पर: सत्पुरुषोचिते,जो शूरवीर समरांगणमें पाण्डवोंकी सेनाके भीतर घुसकर लोहा लेता था, वही आज सत्पुरुषोचित वीरशय्यापर शयन कर रहा है
praviśya samare śūraḥ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm | sa vīraśayyam āne śete paraḥ satpuruṣocite ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—प्रविश्य समरे शूरः पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम्। स वीरशयमने शेते परः सत्पुरुषोचिते॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal that true valor culminates in an honorable end: the same warrior who was fierce in combat is now portrayed as resting on a ‘vīraśayyā,’ a dignified death-bed suited to a satpuruṣa (noble person). It frames death not merely as defeat but as a moral reckoning of one’s warrior-life.
In the Strī Parva’s lamentation context after the war, the narrator points to a fallen hero: once he penetrated deep into the Pandavas’ battle formation and fought fiercely; now he lies motionless on the warrior’s bed, emphasizing the reversal from action to stillness and inviting reflection on the cost of war.