Shloka 18
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
अस्मिन् हि बहव: साधो ये ममासन् मनोरथा: । ते द्रोणपुत्रेण हता: कि नु जीवामि केशव,'साधुपुरुष केशव! इस बालकपर मैंने जो बड़ी-बड़ी आशाएँ बाँध रखी थीं, द्रोणपुत्र अश्व॒ृत्थामाने उन सबको नष्ट कर दिया। अब मैं किसलिये जीवित रहूँ?
asmin hi bahavaḥ sādho ye mamāsan manorathāḥ | te droṇaputreṇa hatāḥ ki nu jīvāmi keśava |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O noble Keśava, in this child I had cherished many great hopes and heartfelt expectations. Drona’s son has slain them all. For what purpose should I go on living now?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and psychological collapse that follows adharma-driven violence: when hopes invested in the next generation are annihilated, the survivor confronts purposelessness. It sets up the need for dharmic counsel—how to endure grief without surrendering to despair.
A grieving speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), lamenting that all the hopes placed in a child have been destroyed by Droṇa’s son, Aśvatthāman. The line expresses acute bereavement and a wish to give up life, reflecting the devastation after the night slaughter.