Shloka 14
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall
विचेता न्न्यपतद् भूमौ सौभद्र: परवीरहा । एवं विनिहतो राजन्नेको बहुभिराहवे,गदाके उस महान् वेग और परिश्रमसे मोहित होकर शत्रुवीरोंका नाश करनेवाला अभिमन्यु अचेत हो पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा। राजन! इस प्रकार उस युद्धस्थलमें बहुत-से योद्धाओंने मिलकर एकाकी अभिमन्युको मार डाला
vicetā nyapatad bhūmau saubhadraḥ paravīrahā | evaṁ vinihato rājann eko bahubhir āhave ||
Sañjaya said: Overcome by exhaustion and the force of the blows, Abhimanyu—the son of Subhadrā, a slayer of enemy heroes—fell senseless to the ground. O King, thus in that battle, many warriors together brought down and killed the lone Abhimanyu. The passage underscores the moral dissonance of collective violence against a single, isolated fighter, even amid the accepted harshness of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, where violence is normalized, the Mahābhārata repeatedly highlights ethical boundaries (dharma-yuddha). The image of a lone hero being killed by many points to a breach of fair combat and invites reflection on how victory pursued without restraint corrodes righteousness.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu, exhausted and overwhelmed, collapses unconscious on the battlefield, and that multiple enemy warriors together kill him while he is isolated—marking the tragic culmination of his surrounded combat.