Shloka 25
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
हा हा धिक् कुरुवीरस्य संनाहं काज्चनं भुवि । अपविद्धं हतस्येह मया पुत्रेण पश्यत
hā hā dhik kuruvīrasya saṃnāhaṃ kāñcanaṃ bhuvi | apaviddhaṃ hatasyeha mayā putreṇa paśyata |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Alas, alas—shame upon me! Look here: the golden armor of the Kuru hero lies cast upon the earth, thrown aside here after he was slain—slain by me, his own son.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability in warfare: even when violence occurs within a martial context, the sight of a righteous hero’s fallen insignia (his golden armor) can awaken shame and remorse, emphasizing that dharma is not merely victory but ethical restraint and responsibility for consequences.
The narrator reports a lament in which the speaker calls others to witness the golden armor of the Kuru hero lying discarded on the ground, declaring that the hero has been slain by the speaker’s own son—an outcry that mixes grief with self-condemnation.