Shloka 72
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत कर्णपर्वनें श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनका संवादविषयक बहत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
apaśyaṁ nihataṁ vīraṁ saubhadram ṛṣabhekṣaṇam | droṇadrauṇikṛpān vīrān karṣayantaṁ nararṣabhān ||
Vāyu berkata: “Aku melihat putra Subhadrā yang gagah—Abhimanyu, bermata laksana banteng—tergeletak gugur, padahal ia baru saja menekan dan menggempur para kesatria bak banteng di antara manusia: Droṇa, putra Droṇa (Aśvatthāmā), dan Kṛpa. Pemandangan pemuda mulia itu—penambah kemasyhuran wangsa Kuru dan Vṛṣṇi—dipangkas di tengah himpitan perang, membakar sekujur tubuhku; dan demi kebenaran aku bersumpah: bahkan dalam kezaliman itu, niat khianat Karṇa-lah yang bekerja.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Abhimanyu’s fall as an ethical wound: even extraordinary valor can be undone when many powerful warriors act without restraint, and the memory of such adharma (treacherous intent) becomes a moral burden on witnesses and society.
Vāyu reports having seen Abhimanyu—who was fiercely afflicting leading Kaurava champions like Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā, and Kṛpa—lying slain, and he attributes the wrongdoing behind this outcome to Karṇa’s hostile, deceitful agency.