Shloka 366
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
अशृण्वतः स्वनं तस्य का शान्ति्दयस्य मे । “अभिमन्युका स्वर वीणाकी ध्वनिके समान सुखद, मनोहर तथा कोयलकी काकलीके तुल्य मधुर था। उसे न सुननेपर मेरे हृदयको क्या शान्ति मिलेगी?
aśṛṇvataḥ svanaṃ tasya kā śāntir hṛdayasya me |
Sanjaya said: “If I do not hear his sound, what peace can my heart ever find?” In the midst of war’s turmoil, the speaker’s mind clings to the remembered sweetness of Abhimanyu’s voice—likened to the resonance of a vīṇā and the melodious call of a cuckoo—showing how affection and grief persist even when duty and violence dominate the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid dharma-driven warfare, the human heart remains vulnerable to affection and loss; remembrance of virtue and sweetness (here symbolized by Abhimanyu’s voice) becomes both solace and torment, revealing the ethical cost of war beyond victory and defeat.
Sanjaya, narrating events to Dhritarashtra, expresses anguish that without hearing ‘his’ sound—understood in context as Abhimanyu’s beloved voice—his heart cannot be consoled; the verse underscores mourning and emotional aftermath within the Drona Parva war narrative.