Shloka 81

Devanagari script

अहो व: पौरुषं नास्ति न च वो<5स्ति पराक्रम: । यत्राभिमन्यु: समरे पश्यतां वो निपातित:,“अहो! आपलोगोंमें पुरुषार्थ नहीं है और पराक्रम भी नहीं है; क्योंकि समरभूमिमें आपलोगोंके देखते-देखते अभिमन्यु मार डाला गया

Transliteration

aho vaḥ pauruṣaṃ nāsti na ca vo 'sti parākramaḥ | yatrābhimanyuḥ samare paśyatāṃ vo nipātitaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Alas, there is no manly resolve in you, nor any true valor—since, while you all stood watching on the battlefield, Abhimanyu was struck down.”

Word by Word

अहोalas!/oh!

वःof you (all)

पौरुषम्manliness, valor

नnot

अस्तिis/exists

नnor/not

चand

वःof you (all)

अस्तिis/exists

पराक्रमःprowess, heroism

यत्रwhere

अभिमन्युःAbhimanyu

समरेin battle

पश्यताम्of (you) seeing, while (you) looked on

वःof you (all)

निपातितःwas struck down/killed

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Abhimanyu

battlefield (samara)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns passive spectatorship in the face of injustice and highlights the kṣatriya ideal of courage and protective duty: valor is not merely claimed but proven by action, especially when a righteous warrior is endangered.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a sharp reproach: Abhimanyu has been slain in battle while the addressed group looked on, and this fact is used as evidence that they lacked both heroic resolve (pauruṣa) and martial prowess (parākrama).