Gandhari's Grief and Curse

Gandhari on the Battlefield

युद्धानन्तरम् — धृतराष्ट्रः गान्धारी च रणभूमिम् आगताः। शतम् पुत्राः मृताः — समस्तः कुलः विनष्टः। गान्धारी — जन्मप्रभृति नेत्रे आवृत्य जीवितवती — पुत्रशोकेन विह्वला। सा रणभूमौ विचरन्ती — पुत्राणाम् देहान् स्पर्शयन्ती — शोकेन रुदती — "पुत्राः! पुत्राः!" धृतराष्ट्रः — अन्धः — भीमस्य समीपम् आगतः। परन्तु कृष्णः पूर्वम् अवदत् — "भीम! दूरं तिष्ठ।" लोहमूर्तिं दत्त्वा — धृतराष्ट्रः तां चूर्णयामास। कृष्णः शान्तः — "एतत् ज्ञातम् आसीत्।"

After the war — Dhritarashtra and Gandhari came to the battlefield. A hundred sons were dead — the entire family was destroyed. Gandhari — who had lived from birth with her eyes covered — was overwhelmed by the grief of losing her sons. She wandered over the battlefield — touching the bodies of her sons — weeping with grief: "My sons! My sons!" Dhritarashtra — blind — came toward Bhima. But Krishna had said beforehand: "Bhima! Stand far away." He gave him an iron statue — and Dhritarashtra crushed it to powder. Krishna said calmly: "This was known."