Shloka 16
अभिमन्युविलापः (Abhimanyu-vilāpa) — Uttarā’s lament, observed and framed by Gandhārī
तस्य शोणितदिग्धान् वै केशानुद्यम्य पाणिना । उत्सड़े वक्त्रमाधाय जीवन्तमिव पृच्छति,जनार्दन! देखो, अभिमन्युके सिरको गोदीमें रखकर उत्तरा उसके खूनसे सने हुए केशोंको हाथसे उठा-उठाकर सुलझाती है और मानो वह जी रहा हो, इस प्रकार उससे पूछती है
tasya śoṇita-digdhān vai keśān udyamya pāṇinā | utsaṅge vaktram ādhāya jīvantam iva pṛcchati |
Vaiśampāyana said: Lifting with her hand his hair matted with blood, and placing his face upon her lap, she questions him as though he were still alive. The scene lays bare the human cost of war: a widow’s tenderness meets the irreversible consequence of adharma-driven slaughter, turning victory into grief and moral reckoning.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical aftermath of war: even when a conflict is framed in terms of duty, its violence leaves irreparable personal suffering. It invites reflection on dharma not only as battlefield obligation but also as responsibility toward the vulnerable and the grieving.
After Abhimanyu’s death, Uttarā cradles his head in her lap, lifts and arranges his blood-matted hair, and speaks to him as if he were alive—an intimate image of shock, love, and mourning narrated by Vaiśampāyana.