Shloka 156
द्रोण–सात्यकि द्वैरथम्
Droṇa and Sātyaki: The Chariot Duel
स चैवं पुरुषव्यात्र: स्वर्गलोकमवाप्तवान् | यही हमलोगोंके लिये शोक बढ़ानेवाली घटना घटित हुई है। पुरुषसिंह अभिमन्यु इस प्रकार स्वर्गलोकमें गया है
sa caivaṁ puruṣavyāghraḥ svargalokam avāptavān | yadīha asmākaṁ śokaṁ vardhayituṁ ghaṭanā ghaṭitā | puruṣasiṁhaḥ abhimanyuḥ evaṁ svargaloke gataḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “And thus that tiger among men attained the heavenly world. Here, for us, an event has occurred that only increases grief. The lion among men, Abhimanyu, has gone in this manner to heaven.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Abhimanyu’s death within the kṣatriya ideal: a heroic warrior who falls in battle is said to attain heaven, yet the righteous still experience human grief. It holds together two truths—honoring valor and dharma, while acknowledging the ethical and emotional cost of war.
Yudhiṣṭhira laments Abhimanyu’s passing. He praises him with royal-heroic epithets (“tiger/lion among men”) and states that Abhimanyu has reached svarga, while emphasizing that this occurrence has intensified the Pāṇḍavas’ sorrow.