Shloka 12

Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच एवमुक्त: स कृष्णेन सर्व सत्यं जनाधिप । उवाच देवकीपुत्रं धृतराष्ट्री महीपति:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca evam uktaḥ sa kṛṣṇena sarvaṃ satyaṃ janādhipa | uvāca devakīputraṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrī mahīpatiḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说：当克里希纳以全然真实之言如此告诫之后，噢人中之主，那位国王——持国——便向提婆姬之子答言。叙事强调：以真理（satya）为根基的劝诫，成为道德的凭据，使得即便沉浸悲痛的君王也必须回应并承担责任。

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been addressed / spoken to

सःhe

कृष्णेनby Kṛṣṇa

सर्वम्all

सत्यम्truth

जनाधिपO ruler of men

उवाचsaid

देवकीपुत्रम्Devakī’s son (Kṛṣṇa)

धृतराष्ट्रीDhṛtarāṣṭrī (Gāndhārī)

महीपतिO lord of the earth (king)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṛṣṇa

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Devakī

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 highlights satya (truthfulness) as the ethical foundation of counsel and response: when guidance is fully truthful, a ruler is morally compelled to answer and act with accountability, especially amid the sorrow and reckoning after war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that after Kṛṣṇa has spoken truthfully, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra then speaks to Kṛṣṇa (Devakī’s son), marking a transition to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s reply within the Stree Parva context.