Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 75
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
ता: स्त्रियो भरतश्रेष्ठ सौकुमार्यसमन्विता: । प्रययुर्नगरं तूर्ण हतस्वजनबान्धवा:
tāḥ striyo bharataśreṣṭha saukumāryasamanvitāḥ | prayayur nagaraṃ tūrṇaṃ hatasvajana-bāndhavāḥ ||
โอ ผู้ประเสริฐแห่งวงศ์ภารตะ! สตรีผู้บอบบางอ่อนหวานเหล่านั้น ซึ่งสูญเสียญาติพี่น้องและวงศ์วานเพราะถูกสังหาร ต่างรีบรุดกลับสู่มหานครโดยพลัน
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical reality that war’s consequences fall heavily on the vulnerable—here, women described as tender—who must endure bereavement and insecurity after the death of their relatives. It implicitly critiques the devastation that adharma-driven conflict brings to households and society.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the women, characterized by delicacy, hasten back to the city after losing their own people and kinsmen in the fighting—an image of the battlefield’s aftermath and the movement of survivors toward refuge.