Shloka 31
Subhadrā-vilāpaḥ — Subhadrā’s Lament for Abhimanyu
Droṇa-parva 55
हत्वा विशस्य चापश्यन् लुब्धा वसु न किउ्चन । तस्य प्राणैर्विमुक्तस्य नष्ट तद् वरदं वसु,योग्य उपायको न जाननेवाले उन विवेकशून्य डाकुओंने उसे वनमें ले जाकर मार डाला और उसके शरीरके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करके देखा, परंतु उन्हें थोड़ा-सा भी धन नहीं दिखायी दिया। उसके प्राणशून्य होते ही वह वरदायक वैभव नष्ट हो गया
hatvā viśasya cāpaśyan lubdhā vasu na kiñcana | tasya prāṇair vimuktasya naṣṭa tad varadaṃ vasu ||
Having killed him and even cutting his body apart, those greedy men saw no wealth at all. The moment he was bereft of life-breath, that boon-giving prosperity vanished—showing how ill-gotten violence, driven by delusion, destroys both the victim and the very object of the aggressor’s desire.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed-driven violence is self-defeating: when wealth is pursued through adharma, it does not yield lasting gain. The verse underscores impermanence and the moral truth that prosperity tied to righteous conditions (or life itself) cannot be seized by cruelty.
Vyāsa narrates that greedy men kill a person and even dismember the body searching for treasure, but find nothing. As soon as the victim’s life departs, the ‘boon-giving’ wealth disappears, implying it was contingent on the person’s living state (or a divine condition) and cannot be obtained by force.