Shloka 32
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall
तं॑ दृष्टवा पतितं भूमौ चन्द्रार्कसदृशद्युतिम् तावकानां परा प्रीति: पाण्डूनां चाभवद् व्यथा,चन्द्रमा और सूर्यके समान कान्तिमान् अभिमन्युको पृथ्वीपर पड़ा देख आपके पुत्रोंको बड़ी प्रसन्नता हुई और पाण्डवोंकी अन्तरात्मा व्यथित हो उठी
taṁ dṛṣṭvā patitaṁ bhūmau candrārka-sadṛśa-dyutim | tāvakānāṁ parā prītiḥ pāṇḍūnāṁ cābhavad vyathā ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing him fallen upon the earth—radiant like the moon and the sun—your side was filled with great delight, while the Pāṇḍavas were stricken with inner anguish. The verse underscores how war distorts moral perception: one party’s joy at an enemy’s fall becomes the other’s grief, even when the fallen is a noble and luminous warrior.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tragedy of war: the same event—an illustrious warrior’s fall—produces opposite emotions in opposing camps. It invites reflection on how enmity can eclipse reverence for virtue and how victory can be morally complicated when it rests on another’s suffering.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu lies fallen on the battlefield. The Kaurava side feels intense joy at his defeat, while the Pāṇḍavas experience deep inner pain and distress on seeing their heroic young warrior brought down.