Shloka 19
Jayadrathasya śoka-bhaya-vilāpaḥ — Droṇena āśvāsanaṃ ca
Jayadratha’s lament and Droṇa’s reassurance
हरत्यमरसंकाश तनमे ब्रूहि पितामह । मुझे संदेह होता है कि इन्हें 'मर गये” ऐसा क्यों कहा जाता है? मृत्यु किसकी होती है? किस निमित्तसे होती है? तथा वह किसलिये इन प्रजाओं (प्राणियों) का अपहरण करती है? देवतुल्य पितामह! ये सब बातें आप मुझे बताइये ।। १८ $ ।। संजय उवाच त॑ं तथा परिपृच्छन्तं कुन्तीपुत्रं युधिष्ठिरम् । आश्वासनमिदं वाक्यमुवाच भगवानृषि:,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! इस प्रकार पूछते हुए कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिससे मुनिवर भगवान् व्यासने यह आश्वासनजनक वचन कहा
sañjaya uvāca |
taṃ tathā paripṛcchantaṃ kuntīputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram |
āśvāsanam idaṃ vākyam uvāca bhagavān ṛṣiḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Pitāmaha, radiant as an immortal, tell me. I am in doubt: why are they said to be ‘dead’? Whose is this death, and for what cause does it occur? And why does it carry off these beings? Explain all this to me.” Sañjaya said: As Kuntī’s son Yudhiṣṭhira questioned him in this manner, the revered sage Vyāsa spoke to him words of reassurance, to steady his mind amid doubt and grief.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic response to existential doubt: when a righteous person is troubled by questions about death and its causes, the proper guidance comes through calm, reassuring instruction from a realized sage—suggesting that ethical clarity is supported by wise counsel, not panic or despair.
Sañjaya narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, deeply questioning (in the preceding context) why beings are called ‘dead’ and what death is, addresses the grandsire-like sage Vyāsa; in response, Vyāsa begins to speak words of reassurance to settle Yudhiṣṭhira’s mind.