Strī Parva
The Strī Parva is the eleventh book (parva) of the Mahābhārata. It records the grief of the surviving Kuru elders, Dhṛtarāshṭra, Gāndhārī and Kuntī, and of the women of the Kuru house in the days just after the Kurukshetra war. Gāndhārī, with the divine sight granted to her by Vyāsa, looks over the battlefield and mourns each fallen hero in turn.
The parva rises to Gāndhārī’s śāpa (curse) upon Kṛshṇa and closes with Yudhishṭhira’s account of the number of the dead and the destinies of the warriors. It has 26 chapters in three sub-parvas.
Key figures
- Gāndhārī: the main speaker of the Strī Vilāpa Parva.
- Dhṛtarāshṭra: the grieving king; the episode of the iron statue; asks for the count of the dead.
- Vidura: the teacher of the Jala Pradāna Parva.
- Kuntī: her grief on the battlefield.
- Kṛshṇa: the ruse of the iron statue; receives Gāndhārī’s śāpa.
- Vyāsa: grants Gāndhārī divine sight; tells the Bhūdevī-Kali upākhyāna.
Chapters
Jala Pradāna Parva (chapters 1–15)
The sub-parva of the water offering (jala pradāna). Dhṛtarāshṭra receives news of Duryodhana’s death; Vidura teaches him on karma and death; Vyāsa narrates the Bhūdevī-Kali upākhyāna; the Kuru elders journey to the battlefield; Kṛshṇa saves Bhīma from Dhṛtarāshṭra; Gāndhārī meets the Pāṇḍavas.
| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sañjaya informs Dhṛtarāshṭra of Duryodhana’s death and the war’s end; Dhṛtarāshṭra’s grief; Sañjaya consoles him |
| 2–7 | Vidura’s teachings to Dhṛtarāshṭra: on karma, impermanence, saṃsāra; the Man in the Forest allegory |
| 8 | Vyāsa arrives; narrates the Bhūdevī-Kali Upākhyāna — Bhūdevī’s weight, the approach to Vishṇu, Duryodhana revealed as Kali’s aṃśa; Dhṛtarāshṭra steadied |
| 9–10 | Vidura consoles again; Dhṛtarāshṭra calls for Gāndhārī and Kuntī; city of Hastināpura weeps; departure to the battlefield |
| 11 | The three survivors — Kṛpa, Kṛtavarman, Aśvatthāmā — are met; they separate (Kṛpa to Hastināpura, Kṛtavarman to his kingdom, Aśvatthāmā to Vyāsa’s āśrama) |
| 12 | Pāṇḍavas arrive; Dhṛtarāshṭra attempts to crush Bhīma; Kṛshṇa puts an iron statue in Bhīma’s place; statue destroyed; Kṛshṇa reveals the truth; Dhṛtarāshṭra reconciles |
| 13 | Kṛshṇa’s words to Dhṛtarāshṭra; the embrace with all the Pāṇḍavas |
| 14 | Pāṇḍavas go to Gāndhārī; Vyāsa steps in to stop her śāpa (curse) on Bhīma; Gāndhārī expresses her distress at Bhīma’s adharma in the gadāyuddha |
| 15 | Bhīma defends himself to Gāndhārī; Yudhishṭhira prostrates; Kuntī’s grief; Draupadī’s lament to Kuntī |
Strī Vilāpa Parva (chapters 16–25)
The sub-parva of the women’s lament (strī vilāpa). Gāndhārī looks over the battlefield with the divine sight granted by Vyāsa and speaks to Kṛshṇa as she identifies each fallen warrior. The sub-parva moves from the sight of the field, through the laments for each warrior, to the śāpa on Kṛshṇa.
| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| 16 | Gāndhārī receives divine sight from Vyāsa; surveys the battlefield — corpses, animals, women lamenting; addresses Kṛshṇa |
| 17 | Gāndhārī sees Duryodhana’s corpse; her lament over her firstborn |
| 18 | Gāndhārī’s lament over Duḥśāsana; recalls his crimes; sees that Bhīma drank his blood |
| 19 | Gāndhārī mourns Vikarṇa, Durmukha, Citrasena, Viviṃśati, Duḥsaha individually |
| 20 | Gāndhārī mourns Abhimanyu; Uttarā’s lament over Abhimanyu’s corpse; Virāṭa, Uttara, Sudakshiṇa, Lakshmaṇa (Duryodhana’s son) mourned |
| 21 | Gāndhārī mourns Karṇa; recalls Paraśurāma’s śāpa; Karṇa’s wife’s grief |
| 22 | Gāndhārī mourns Jayadratha; Duḥśalā’s grief; Bāhlika mourned; Bhūriśravas’s wife’s anger at Arjuna and Sātyaki |
| 23 | Gāndhārī mourns Śalya, Bhagadatta, Bhīshma (on śaraśayyā), Droṇa; Kṛpī’s grief at Droṇa’s funeral pyre |
| 24 | Gāndhārī mourns Bhūriśravas, Somadatta, Śakuni; women’s laments |
| 25 | Gāndhārī mourns the Kāmboja king, the Kāliṅga king, Jayatsena, Bṛhadbala, Pāñcāla princes, Kekaya princes, Vinda and Anuvinda, Drupada, Dhṛshṭaketu; Gāndhārī’s grief overwhelms her; she lays a śāpa on Kṛshṇa: the Yādavas will destroy each other in 36 years; Kṛshṇa accepts |
Śrāddha Parva (chapter 26)
The sub-parva of the rites for the dead (śrāddha).
| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| 26 | Kṛshṇa addresses Gāndhārī; Dhṛtarāshṭra asks Yudhishṭhira for the count of the dead; Yudhishṭhira gives the numbers: 166 crore 20,000 (1,660,020,000) slain in the battle, and 24,165 heroes who could not be identified (alakshya); teaches the four destinies of warriors, according to how they fell |
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, chapters 1–26