Shloka 563
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
रणे विनिहतं श्रुत्वा शोकार्ता वै विनड्क्ष्यति । “मुझे बारंबार सुभद्राके लिये शोक हो रहा है, जो युद्धसे मुँह न मोड़नेवाले अपने वीर पुत्रको रणभूमिमें मारा गया सुनकर शोकसे आतुर हो प्राण त्याग देगी
raṇe vinihataṃ śrutvā śokārtā vai vinaṅkṣyati |
Sañjaya said: “On hearing that her heroic son—one who never turned away from battle—has been slain on the field, Subhadrā, overwhelmed by grief, will surely waste away and may even give up her life.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even when a warrior fulfills kṣatriya-duty by not turning from battle, the aftermath falls heavily on loved ones. It implicitly raises an ethical tension between martial dharma and the suffering it causes within families.
Sañjaya foresees Subhadrā’s reaction upon hearing that her son has been killed in battle—predicting that grief will overwhelm her to the point of wasting away or even dying.