Shloka 1
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
औपनआक्ाा बा अकाल एकषेष्टितमो< ध्याय: श्रीकृष्णका सुभद्राके कहनेसे वसुदेवजीको अभिमन्युवधका वृत्तान्त सुनाना वैशम्पायन उवाच कथयतन्नेव तु तदा वासुदेव: प्रतापवान् । महाभारतसयुद्ध॑ तत्कथान्ते पितुरग्रत:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | kathayat tan naiva tu tadā vāsudevaḥ pratāpavān | mahābhārata-yuddhaṃ tat-kathānte pitur agrataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: While the mighty Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) was recounting the events of the Mahābhārata war before his father, he deliberately did not tell, in the midst of that narration, the episode of Abhimanyu’s slaying. He withheld it out of considerate restraint—fearing that the grievous news of his grandson’s death might overwhelm his father with sorrow and cause distress—thus choosing compassion and propriety in speech even while speaking truth about war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma in speech: even when telling the truth, one should consider timing, audience, and the potential harm of painful information. Kṛṣṇa’s restraint models compassionate discretion—truth guided by empathy and responsibility.
Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that Kṛṣṇa, while narrating the Mahābhārata war to his father Vasudeva, intentionally omits the account of Abhimanyu’s killing, fearing it would cause his father intense grief upon hearing of his grandson’s death.