Shloka 18
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
तात भ्रात: सखे बन्धो वयस्यथ मम मातुल । मा मां परित्यजेत्यन्ये चुक़ुशु: पतिता रणे,कितने ही योद्धा रणभूमिमें गिरकर इस प्रकार आर्तभावसे स्वजनोंको पुकार रहे थे --तात! भ्रातः! सखे! बन्धो! मेरे मित्र! मेरे मामा! मुझे छोड़कर न जाओ”
tāta bhrātaḥ sakhe bandho vayasyatha mama mātula | mā māṃ parityajety anye cukruśuḥ patitā raṇe ||
Sañjaya said: “Father! Brother! Friend! Kinsman! Companion of my youth! O my maternal uncle! Do not abandon me!”—thus, as they fell upon the battlefield, many warriors cried out in anguish to their own people. The verse underscores the human cost of war: when life is slipping away, social and familial bonds eclipse martial identity, and the battlefield becomes a place of desperate appeals rather than glory.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional reality of war: at the moment of death, warriors cling to relationships and plead for care, revealing that beneath duty and rivalry lie vulnerable human bonds and the profound suffering caused by violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many fighters, struck down in combat, fell on the battlefield and cried out to their relatives and companions—calling them father, brother, friend, kinsman, and maternal uncle—begging not to be abandoned.