Shloka 15
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
स्पर्धते सम रणे नित्यं दुहितु: पुत्रको मम | “मेरी बेटीका वह लाड़ला अभिमन्यु रणभूमिमें सदा द्रोणाचार्य
spardhate sama-raṇe nityaṁ duhituḥ putrako mama | evaṁvidhaṁ bahu tadā vilapantaṁ suduḥkhitam |
Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : « Le fils de ma fille était toujours avide de lutter dans un combat loyal. Il eut le courage de croiser les armes même avec Droṇa, Bhīṣma et Karṇa, le premier parmi les puissants. Se peut-il que Droṇa, Karṇa, Kṛpa et d’autres se soient ligués et, par ruse, aient tué cet enfant, si bien que, frappé par la trahison, il gît maintenant sur la terre ? Keśava, dis-moi tout cela. » Ainsi, en ce temps-là, il se lamenta longuement, accablé d’une douleur immense.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts righteous, fair combat (sama-raṇa) with the moral stain of deceitful killing. It highlights how adharma in war—especially collective, treacherous violence against a lone youth—becomes a source of enduring grief and ethical questioning.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates a lament in which a grieving speaker recalls Abhimanyu’s fearless readiness to face even the greatest warriors and suspects that senior fighters (Droṇa, Karṇa, Kṛpa and others) may have killed him through stratagem. He appeals to Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) to disclose the truth, and continues lamenting in intense sorrow.