Shloka 16
अभिमन्योरावरणम्
Encirclement and counter-strikes of Abhimanyu
“लक्ष्मण! इस संसारको अच्छी तरह देख लो। अब शीघ्र ही परलोककी यात्रा करोगे। इन बान्धव-जनोंके देखते-देखते मैं तुम्हें यमलोक पहुँचाये देता हूँ” ।। एवमुक्त्वा ततो भल्लं सौभद्र: परवीरहा । उद्धबर्ह महाबाहुर्निर्मुक्तोरगसंनिभम्,ऐसा कहकर शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले महाबाहु सुभद्राकुमारने केंचुलसे निकले हुए सर्पके समान एक भल्लको तरकससे निकाला
sañjaya uvāca | “lakṣmaṇa! imaṃ saṃsāraṃ samyag avalokaya | adya tvaṃ śīghram eva paralokasya yātrāṃ kariṣyasi | eṣāṃ bāndhava-janānāṃ paśyatāṃ paśyatāṃ tvāṃ yama-lokaṃ prāpayāmi” || evam uktvā tato bhallaṃ saubhadraḥ para-vīra-hā | uddhṛtya bāhuḥ mahābāhur nirmuktoraga-sannibham ||
Sañjaya said: “Lakṣmaṇa, look well upon this world. Soon you will set out on the journey to the next. Before the very eyes of your kinsmen, I shall send you to Yama’s realm.” Having spoken thus, the mighty-armed son of Subhadrā—slayer of enemy heroes—then drew forth a bhalla arrow from his quiver, gleaming like a serpent newly slipped from its skin, poised to strike in the ruthless ethic of battlefield retribution.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts saṃsāra (the fragile, transient world) with paraloka (the afterlife), using the battlefield as a setting where kṣatriya-dharma frames death as an imminent passage. Ethically, it shows how martial duty and vengeance can harden speech into a death-sending taunt, reminding readers that power and life are momentary and accountable to cosmic order symbolized by Yama.
A warrior addresses Lakṣmaṇa with a grim warning that he will be sent to Yama’s realm before his relatives’ eyes. Immediately after this threat, Saubhadra (Abhimanyu) draws a bhalla arrow from his quiver, compared to a snake slipping out of its skin, signaling the next lethal action in the combat.