Shloka 18
दृष्टवा क्षातृश्व पुत्रांक्ष विमना वानरध्वज: । अपश्यंश्वैव सौभद्रमिदं वचनमत्रवीत्,भाइयों तथा पुत्रोंको इस अवस्थामें देख और सुभद्राकुमार अभिमन्युको वहाँ न पाकर कपिध्वज अर्जुनका मन अत्यन्त उदास हो गया तथा वे इस प्रकार बोले--
dṛṣṭvā kṣātrṛśva-putrāṃś ca vimanā vānara-dhvajaḥ | apaśyaṃś caiva saubhadram idaṃ vacanam abravīt ||
Sanjaya said: Seeing the sons of Kṣātrṛśva and others in such a condition, the monkey-bannered Arjuna became deeply distressed; and, not seeing Saubhadra (Abhimanyu), he spoke these words. The moment underscores the warrior’s ethical burden in war: grief for fallen kin and anxiety for the vulnerable, even amid duty-bound combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a dharma-bound warrior is not emotionally untouched: righteous duty in war coexists with sorrow for kin and urgent concern for those under one’s protection. The verse highlights the ethical weight of responsibility and the human cost of conflict.
Sanjaya reports that Arjuna, seeing the fallen/afflicted warriors (including the sons of Kṣātrṛśva) and not finding Abhimanyu on the field, becomes deeply distressed and begins to speak—setting up Arjuna’s reaction to Abhimanyu’s fate.