Shloka 19

स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation

Devanagari script

सर्वे वेदविद: शूरा: सर्वे सुचरितव्रता: । सर्वे चाभिमुखा: क्षीणास्तत्र का परिदेवना,'वे सभी वीर वेदवेत्ता और अच्छी तरह ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करनेवाले थे। वे सब-के- सब शत्रुओंका सामना करते हुए मारे गये थे; अतः उनके लिये शोक करनेकी क्‍या आवश्यकता है?

Transliteration

sarve vedavidaḥ śūrāḥ sarve sucaritavratāḥ | sarve cābhimukhāḥ kṣīṇās tatra kā paridevanā ||

Translation

सर्वे वेदविदः शूराः सर्वे सुचरितव्रताः । सर्वे चाभिमुखाः क्षीणास्तत्र का परिदेवना ॥

Word by Word

सर्वेall

वेदविदःknowers of the Veda

शूराःheroes, valiant men

सर्वेall

सुचरितव्रताःof well-observed vows

सर्वेall

चand

अभिमुखाःfacing (the enemy), front-facing

क्षीणाःslain, perished (lit. diminished/exhausted)

तत्रthere, in that case

काwhat (which?)

परिदेवनाlamentation, mourning

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Veda

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 frames heroic death in righteous combat—facing the enemy and upholding learning and vows—as an honorable end, suggesting that excessive lamentation is ethically misplaced when the fallen have met death in accordance with warrior-duty and disciplined life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the great war, the speaker characterizes the slain as brave, Veda-knowing, vow-observant men who died confronting the foe, using this description to question the need for continued mourning.