Shloka 57
Omens and Consolation after Loss; Reaffirmation of the Saindhava Punishment Vow (उत्पात-दर्शनम्, आश्वासन-वाक्यानि, प्रतिज्ञा-स्थैर्यम्)
युध्यमानो महेष्वासो हत: सो$भिमुखो रणे । असिना गदया शक्त्या धनुषा च महारथ: । विरजा: सोमसूनु: स पुनस्तत्र प्रलीयते,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
yudhyamāno maheṣvāso hataḥ so 'bhimukho raṇe | asinā gadayā śaktyā dhanuṣā ca mahārathaḥ | virajāḥ somasūnuḥ sa punas tatra pralīyate ||
Vyāsa said: Abhimanyu, that great archer and mighty chariot-warrior, was slain in battle while fighting face to face. Having struck down foes before the eyes of all bowmen, he fell amid weapons—by sword, mace, spear, and bow. Free from sorrow, that radiant son of Soma (the Moon) dissolved back into his own lunar realm, returning to the sphere from which he had come.
दैपायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames heroic death within a moral-cosmic order: a warrior who meets the enemy head-on fulfills kṣatriya duty, and the soul—described as viraja (stainless)—returns to its higher origin. It highlights both the gravity of war and the idea that righteous valor can culminate in transcendence rather than mere tragedy.
Vyāsa reports Abhimanyu’s fall in the battle: he fought openly in the forefront and was killed amid multiple weapons—sword, mace, spear, and bow. The verse then interprets his end as a return to the lunar realm, calling him the son of Soma and describing him as free from sorrow.