Shloka 20
Brahmāstra-pratisaṃhāraḥ, Parīkṣit-nāmakaraṇam, Nagarotsava-varṇanam
Withdrawal of the Brahmāstra; Naming of Parīkṣit; Description of Civic Festivities
यथा मे दयितो धर्मों ब्राह्मणश्न विशेषत: । अभिमन्यो: सुतो जातो मृतो जीवत्वयं तथा,“यदि धर्म और ब्राह्मण मुझे विशेष प्रिय हों तो अभिमन्युका यह पुत्र, जो पैदा होते ही मर गया था, फिर जीवित हो जाय
yathā me dayito dharmo brāhmaṇaś ca viśeṣataḥ | abhimanyor suto jāto mṛto jīvatv ayaṃ tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “If dharma and the Brāhmaṇas are especially dear to me, then let this son of Abhimanyu—who died the moment he was born—be restored to life.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a truth-assertion grounded in reverence for dharma and Brāhmaṇas: moral integrity and devotion to sacred order are invoked as the warrant for a life-restoring blessing, highlighting the ethical power attributed to truthfulness and righteousness.
Vaiśampāyana reports a solemn conditional declaration: the speaker invokes what is most cherished—dharma and the Brāhmaṇas—as a guarantee, and on that basis calls for Abhimanyu’s newborn son, who had died at birth, to live again.