Mahabharata 11.21.9 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 9

अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्

Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa

Devanagari script

स भूत्वा शरणं वीरो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य माधव । भूमौ विनिहत: शेते वातभग्न इव द्रुम:

Transliteration

sa bhūtvā śaraṇaṃ vīro dhārtarāṣṭrasya mādhava | bhūmau vinihataḥ śete vātabhagna iva drumaḥ ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—ఓ మాధవా! ధృతరాష్ట్రుని కుమారునికి శరణమైన ఆ వీరుడు ఇప్పుడు హతుడై భూమిపై పడి ఉన్నాడు—తుఫాను గాలికి విరిగిన వృక్షంలా।

Word by Word

• सः: he/that (man)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• शरणम्: refuge, shelter
• शरणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वीरः: hero, warrior
• वीरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धार्तराष्ट्रस्य: of the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Duryodhana)
• धार्तराष्ट्रस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धार्तराष्ट्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• माधव: O Mādhava (Krishna)
• माधव: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• विनिहतः: slain, killed
• विनिहतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-नि-हन्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शेते: lies
• शेते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शी
• Form: Lat (present), Ātmanepada, Third, Singular

• वातभग्नः: broken by the wind
• वातभग्नः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वात-भग्न
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• द्रुमः: tree
• द्रुमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रुम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the collapse of worldly strength and protection in the face of death: a warrior who served as a ‘refuge’ for an unjust cause ultimately falls, illustrating the impermanence of power and the destructive end of adharma-driven conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes to Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) that a great hero who had been the main support of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son now lies dead on the battlefield, compared to a tree snapped by a storm—an image typical of the Stree Parva’s grief-filled recounting of the fallen.