Shloka 403
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
तमद्य विप्रविद्धाड़मुपासन्त्यशिवा: शिवा: । “आजसे पहले सोते समय परम सुन्दरी स्त्रियाँ जिसकी उपासना करती थीं, अपने क्षत-विक्षत अंगोंसे पृथ्वीपर पड़े हुए उस अभिमन्युके पास आज अमंगलजनक शब्द करनेवाली सियारिनें बैठी होंगी
tam adya vipraviddhāṅgam upāsanty aśivāḥ śivāḥ |
Sañjaya said: “Today, around him—his body torn and mangled by weapons—those she-jackals, ominous in their cries, will be gathered; he whom, before this day, auspicious and exquisitely beautiful women would attend with reverence.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical horror of a noble warrior’s fall: one once honored by the auspicious presence of refined women is now surrounded by ill-omened scavengers. It highlights the moral cost of adharma in war and the stark reversal from honor to desecration that follows unjust killing.
Sañjaya describes Abhimanyu lying on the battlefield with his body grievously wounded. Instead of attendants and honor, ominous she-jackals gather around him, signaling death, abandonment, and the grim aftermath of the day’s violence.