Shloka 4
Gāndhārī’s Lament and the Identification of Duḥśāsana (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १८)
कृच्छादुत्सारयन्ति सम गृध्रगोमायुवायसान् । दुःखेनार्ता विघूर्णन्त्यो मत्ता इव चरन्त्युत,ये दुःखसे आतुर हो पगली स्त्रियोंके समान झूमती हुई सब ओर विचरती हैं तथा बड़ी कठिनाईसे गीधों, गीदड़ों और कौओंको लाशोंके पाससे दूर हटा रही हैं
kṛcchād utsārayanti sma gṛdhragomāyuvāyasān | duḥkhenārtā vighūrṇantyo mattā iva caranty uta ||
毗湿摩波衍那说：“她们被悲痛击垮，徘徊游走，恍若因哀伤而癫狂的女子；又费尽力气，将秃鹫、豺与乌鸦从尸身旁驱赶开去——这是战后余烬的图景：人之尊严与最后的葬礼仪轨，皆被食腐之兽与绝望所威胁。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral horror of war’s aftermath: grief can unmoor the mind, and yet dharma persists as the living struggle to protect the dead from indignity, implying the ethical weight of safeguarding funeral rites and human respect even amid devastation.
In the wake of the great slaughter, grief-stricken women (or mourners) stagger about the field and, with difficulty, drive away scavenging birds and animals from the bodies, portraying the chaos and sorrow that follow the battle.