Shloka 56
अभिमन्यु: परान् हत्वा प्रमुखे सर्वधन्विनाम्,महाधनुर्धर अभिमन्यु पूर्वजन्ममें चन्द्रमाका पुत्र था, वह महारथी वीर समरांगणमें समस्त धनुर्थरोंके सामने शत्रुओंका वध करके खड्ग, शक्ति, गदा और धनुषद्वारा सम्मुख युद्ध करता हुआ मारा गया है तथा दुःखरहित हो पुनः चन्द्रलोकमें ही चला गया है
abhimanyuḥ parān hatvā pramukhe sarva-dhanvinām | mahā-dhanur-dharaḥ abhimanyuḥ pūrva-janmani candramākaḥ putraḥ āsīt | sa mahā-rathī vīraḥ samarāṅgaṇe samasta-dhanurdharāṇāṃ samakṣaṃ śatrūn vadhitvā khaḍga-śakti-gadā-dhanuṣā sammukha-yuddhaṃ kurvan hataḥ | duḥkha-rahitaḥ punar eva candra-lokaṃ gataḥ ||
Vyāsa said: Abhimanyu, that great archer, after slaying foes in the very forefront of all bowmen, was in truth the son of the Moon in a former birth. That heroic mahāratha, fighting face to face on the battlefield before the eyes of all archers—using sword, spear, mace, and bow—was slain; freed from suffering, he returned again to the Moon-world. The passage frames his death not as mere defeat but as the consummation of a warrior’s duty and a return to his celestial origin.
दैपायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic framing of heroic death: Abhimanyu fulfills the warrior’s duty by fighting openly and courageously, and his end is portrayed as a return to his higher origin rather than a meaningless loss—linking righteous action, destiny, and the soul’s onward journey.
Vyāsa reports that Abhimanyu fought at the very front, killing many enemies and engaging in direct combat with multiple weapons; he was then slain in battle and, being free from suffering, departed to the Moon-world, identified as his former celestial abode as the Moon’s son.