Yudhishtira went before her, trembling. In anger, she looked down through the folds of her blindfold and her eyes fell on Yudhishtira’s toenails. The toenails became deformed, scaring Arjuna, who hid behind Krishna. Gandhari’s anger was quelled, and she blessed the Pandavas.

The Pandavas then met Kunti, who consoled Draupadi, who was inconsolable with grief at the loss of her sons. Gandhari also consoled Draupadi, after which everyone left for the battlefield.

Even though she was blindfolded, Gandhari could see the battlefield and described the brave ones fallen on the battlefield, their bodies being eaten by vultures, jackals, and crows. Gandhari then saw Duryodhana’s body and fell on the ground, weeping in distress.

Gandhari then addressed Krishna and asked him to see the body of her brave son. She lamented that their daughters-in-law were on the battlefield weeping over their dead husbands. Gandhari described the valour of all her sons and cried, seeing her daughter weep over Jayadratha’s body. She wept, seeing Uttara cry over Abhimanyu’s body, which was still radiant.

Weeping piteously, Gandhari questioned Krishna for not stopping the war. She blamed him for keeping quiet when the Kurus and Pandavas killed each other. Then, she cursed Krishna that after thirty-six years, his clan, the Yadavas, would also fight and kill each other. She cursed Krishna with a horrible death, saying all the Yadava women would wail, just like the Kuru women were wailing.

Smiling at her, Krishna accepted the curse. He blamed her for not stopping her evil sons. Dhritarashtra then asked Yudhishtira how many people were killed, to which he replied that one billion twenty thousand and sixty-six crore men were killed and twenty-four thousand one hundred and sixty-five were missing.

Dhritarashtra then asked Yudhishtira to perform the last rites for all those who were dead. Under the supervision of their priest Dhaumya, Yudhishtira carried out the last rites for all the dead.

He then went to the Ganga to offer oblation to the dead. Kunti then shocked the Pandavas by revealing that Karna was their brother. Yudhishtira was grief-stricken and questioned his mother for hiding the fact from them. He said that the sorrow he felt after hearing that Karna was his brother was more than the sorrow he felt when Abhimanyu died and when the sons of Draupadi died.

Having summoned Karna’s wives, Yudhishtira completed the last rites of his dead brother.

End of Stri Parva