Shloka 23
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ८१: कृष्णस्य दूतप्रयाणम्
Udyoga Parva, Chapter 81: Krishna Sets Out as Envoy
सुता मे पञ्चभिवीरै: पञठ्च जाता महारथा: । अभिमन्युर्यथा कृष्ण तथा ते तव धर्मत:
sutā me pañcabhir vīraiḥ pañca jātā mahārathāḥ | abhimanyur yathā kṛṣṇa tathā te tava dharmataḥ ||
By five heroic men I have borne five sons, all great chariot-warriors. O Kṛṣṇa, just as Abhimanyu is your nephew, so too my sons are, by the rule of dharma, your nephews as well.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as a basis for social and familial obligations: lawful kinship creates binding duties of protection, alliance, and regard, especially among Kṣatriyas in a time of impending conflict.
A speaker identifies her five sons as mahārathas born from five heroic husbands and appeals to Kṛṣṇa by asserting a dharma-grounded relationship: as Abhimanyu is Kṛṣṇa’s nephew, her sons too should be treated as Kṛṣṇa’s nephews, strengthening claims of familial solidarity.