Shloka 42
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
विरथांस्तव पुत्रांस्तु कृत्वा राजन् महाहवे । न जघान नरव्याप्र: स्मरन् भीमवचस्तदा,राजन्! उस महासमरमें आपके पुत्रोंको रथहीन करके पुरुषसिंह अभिमन्युने उस समय भीमसेनकी प्रतिज्ञाका स्मरण करके उनका वध नहीं किया
virathāṁs tava putrāṁs tu kṛtvā rājan mahāhave | na jaghāna naravyāghraḥ smaran bhīmavacas tadā ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, in that great battle, after rendering your sons chariotless, the tiger among men (Abhimanyu) did not slay them then, remembering Bhīmasena’s words (his vow).” The verse highlights a warrior’s restraint in war: even amid fierce combat, Abhimanyu honors an ethical boundary grounded in an elder’s pledge, choosing not to kill those made vulnerable.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a life-and-death battlefield, dharma can require restraint: Abhimanyu refrains from killing opponents once they are made chariotless, honoring Bhīma’s stated pledge and maintaining a moral boundary in combat.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu, after disabling the Kaurava princes by making them chariotless in the great fight, does not kill them at that moment because he remembers Bhīma’s words (a vow or directive) regarding their fate.