Shloka 20
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
चपलाक्षस्य दायादे मृते5स्मिन् पुरुषर्षभ । विफला मे कृता: कृष्ण हृदि सर्वे मनोरथा:,“पुरुषोत्तम श्रीकृष्ण! चंचल नेत्रोंवाले पतिदेवके इस पुत्रकी मृत्यु हो जानेसे मेरे हृदयके सारे मनोरथ निष्फल हो गये
Vaiśampāyana uvāca |
capalākṣasya dāyāde mṛte 'smin puruṣarṣabha |
viphalā me kṛtāḥ kṛṣṇa hṛdi sarve manorathāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O bull among men, since this heir of the fickle-eyed one has died, O Kṛṣṇa, all the hopes cherished in my heart have been rendered fruitless.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to outcomes—especially tied to lineage and succession—can collapse into despair when confronted with death. Ethically, it points to the need for steadiness (dhairya) and dharmic perspective in the face of impermanence, a theme often addressed through Kṛṣṇa’s counsel in the epic.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) laments to Kṛṣṇa that the death of a certain person’s heir has made all the speaker’s heartfelt hopes futile. The line functions as a grief-filled appeal, setting up a response or consolation from Kṛṣṇa within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s post-war narrative.