Shloka 16
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
गर्भस्थस्यास्य बालस्य ब्रह्मास्त्रेण निपातनम् | कृत्वा नृशंसं दुर्बुद्धिद्रीणि: कि फलमश्लुते
garbhasthasyāsya bālasya brahmāstreṇa nipātanam | kṛtvā nṛśaṁsaṁ durbuddhir droṇiḥ kiṁ phalam aśnute ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Tras cometer el acto cruel de abatir con el Brahmāstra a este niño aún en el vientre, ¿qué “fruto” está cosechando ahora Aśvatthāmā, el hijo de Droṇa, de mente perversa y entendimiento torcido?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, certain acts—especially violence against the utterly innocent, such as an unborn child—are condemned as nṛśaṁsa (cruel) and adharma. The verse frames the deed in terms of phala (moral consequence), underscoring that grievous wrongdoing inevitably yields a corresponding result.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana recalls Aśvatthāmā’s use of the Brahmāstra against the child still in the womb (the heir of the Pāṇḍavas, implied). He rhetorically asks what ‘fruit’ Aśvatthāmā is obtaining from such a merciless act, highlighting the ethical outrage and the expectation of retribution.