अध्याय ११
श्लोक 9.1
[ज] गते भगवति वयासे धृतराष्ट्रॊ महीपतिः किम अचेष्टत विप्रर्षे तन मे वयाख्यातुम अर्हसि
[ja] gate bhagavati vayāse dhṛtarāṣṭrò mahīpatiḥ kima aceṣṭata viprarṣe tana me vayākhyātuma arhasi
हिन्दी अर्थ
संसारे भ्रमतां राजन् दुःखमेतद्धि जायते
English
"Gandhari said, 'He whose might and courage were regarded, O Keshava, as a one and half times superior to those of his sire and thee, he who resembled a fierce and proud lion, he who, without a follower, alone pierced the impenetrable array of my son, he who proved to be the death of many, alas, he now sleepeth there, having himself succumbed to death ! I see, O Krishna, the splendour of that son of Arjuna, of that hero of immeasurable energy, Abhimanyu, hath not been dimmed even in death. There, the daughter of Virata, the daughter-in-law of the wielder of gandiva, that girl of faultless beauty overwhelmed with grief at sight of her heroic husband, is indulging in lamentations ! That young wife, the daughter of Virata, approaching her lord, is gently rubbing him, O Krishna, with her hand. Formerly, that highly intelligent and exceedingly beautiful girl, inebriated with honeyed wines, used bashfully to embrace her lord, and kiss the face of Subhadra's son, that face which resembled a full-blown lotus and which was supported on a neck adorned with three lines like those of a conch-shell. Taking of her lord's golden coat of mail, O hero, that damsel is gazing now on the blood-dyed body of her spouse. Beholding her lord, O Krishna, that girl addresses thee and says, "O lotus-eyed one, this hero whose eyes resembled thine, hath been slain. In might and energy, and prowess also, he was thy equal, O sinless one! He resembled thee very much in beauty. Yet he sleeps on the ground, slain by the enemy!" Addressing her own lord, the damsel says again, "Thou wert brought up in every luxury. Thou usedst to sleep on soft skins of the ranku deer. Alas, does not thy body feel pain today by lying thus on the bare ground? Stretching thy massive arms adorned with golden angadas, resembling a couple of elephant's trunks and covered with skin hardened by frequent use of the bow, thou sleepest, O lord, in peace, as if exhausted with the toil of too much exercise in the gymnasium. Alas, why dost thou not address me that am weeping so? I do not remember to have ever offended thee. Why dost thou not speak to me then? Formerly, thou usedst to address me even when thou wouldst see me at a distance. O reverend sir, whither wilt thou go, leaving behind thee the much-respected Subhadra, these thy sires that resemble the very celestials, and my own wretched self distracted with woe?" Behold, O Krishna, gathering with her hands the blood-dyed locks of her lord and placing his head on her lap, the beautiful damsel is speaking to him as if he were alive, "How couldst those great car-warriors slay thee in the midst of battle, — thee that art the sister's son of Vasudeva and the son of the wielder of gandiva? Alas, fie on those warriors of wicked deeds, Kripa and Karna and Jayadratha and Drona and Drona's son, by whom thou wert deprived of life. What was the state of mind of those great car-warriors at that time when they surrounded thee, a warrior of tender years, and slew thee to my grief? How couldst thou, O hero, who had so many protectors, be slain so helplessly in the very sight of the Pandavas and the Pancalas? Beholding thee, O hero, slain in battle by many persons united together, how is that tiger among men, that son of Pandu, thy sire, able to bear the burden of life? Neither the acquisition of a vast kingdom nor the defeat of their foes conduces to the joy of the Parthas bereft of thee, O lotus-eyed one! By the practice of virtue and self-restraint, I shall very soon repair to those regions of bliss which thou hast acquired by the use of weapons. Protect me, O hero, when I repair to those regions. When one's hour does not come, one cannot die, since, wretched that I am, I still draw breath after seeing thee slain in