Shloka 33
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
वन्दनाहाविमौ तस्य बन्दिभिव्वन्दितो शुभौ | गोमायवो विकर्षन्ति पादौ शिष्यशतार्चितौ,केशव! जैसे पूर्वकालसे ही प्रजापति ब्रह्मासे वेद कभी अलग नहीं हुए, उसी प्रकार जिन शूरवीर द्रोणसे चारों वेद और सम्पूर्ण अस्त्र-शस्त्र कभी दूर नहीं हुए, उन्हींके बन्दीजनोंद्वारा वन्दित इन दोनों सुन्दर एवं वन्दनीय चरणारविन्दोंको जिनकी सैकड़ों शिष्य पूजा कर चुके हैं, गीदड़ घसीट रहे हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vandanārhāv imau tasya bandibhir vandito śubhau | gomāyavo vikarṣanti pādau śiṣyaśatārcitau, keśava |
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“噢，克沙瓦啊！这两只吉祥而应受礼敬的足，昔日曾为颂诗的歌者所赞颂，亦为数百弟子所供奉，如今却被豺狼拖曳。正如远古之时，吠陀从未与生主梵天分离；同样，四部吠陀与全部兵器之学也从未离开那位英勇的德罗纳。然而，即便如此师长，其可敬之足竟也落到这般凄惨的下场。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic inversion caused by war: even the most revered—an exalted teacher associated with Vedic learning and martial knowledge—can be reduced to indignity. Ethically, it warns that violence and adharma do not merely kill bodies; they corrode honor, sanctity, and the social reverence owed to knowledge and teachers.
In the lament-filled setting of the Strī Parva, the narrator describes a horrifying sight: the revered feet of Droṇa—once praised by bards and worshipped by many disciples—are now being dragged by jackals on the battlefield, emphasizing the devastation and moral horror after the Kurukṣetra slaughter.