Shloka 18
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
अस्मिन् हि बहव: साधो ये ममासन् मनोरथा: । ते द्रोणपुत्रेण हता: कि नु जीवामि केशव
asmin hi bahavaḥ sādho ye mamāsan manorathāḥ | te droṇaputreṇa hatāḥ ki nu jīvāmi keśava |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô noble Keśava, en cet enfant j’avais nourri de grands espoirs, nombreux et profonds. Le fils de Droṇa les a tous tués. À quoi bon vivre désormais ?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and psychological collapse that follows adharma-driven violence: when hopes invested in the next generation are annihilated, the survivor confronts purposelessness. It sets up the need for dharmic counsel—how to endure grief without surrendering to despair.
A grieving speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), lamenting that all the hopes placed in a child have been destroyed by Droṇa’s son, Aśvatthāman. The line expresses acute bereavement and a wish to give up life, reflecting the devastation after the night slaughter.