Shloka 17
अभिमन्युविलापः (Abhimanyu-vilāpa) — Uttarā’s lament, observed and framed by Gandhārī
स्वस्त्रीयं वासुदेवस्य पुत्र गाण्डीवधन्चन: । कथं त्वां रणमध्यस्थं जघ्नुरेते महारथा:,'प्राणनाथ! आप वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्णके भानजे और गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके पुत्र थे। रणभूमिके मध्यभागमें खड़े हुए आपको इन महारथियोंने कैसे मार डाला?
svastīryaṃ vāsudevasya putra gāṇḍīvadhanvanaḥ | kathaṃ tvāṃ raṇamadhyasthaṃ jaghnur ete mahārathāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O beloved lord of my life! You were the sister’s son of Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) and the son of Arjuna, the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva. How, while you stood in the very midst of the battlefield, did these great chariot-warriors manage to slay you?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral shock of war: even exalted lineage and proven valor do not guarantee protection when dharma collapses in battle. It frames the death as an ethical problem—how could ‘great warriors’ kill one who stood openly in the fight—inviting reflection on fairness, collective violence, and the tragic consequences of adharma.
In the Strīparvan’s lamentation context, the speaker highlights the slain hero’s identity—Kṛṣṇa’s nephew and Arjuna’s son—and asks how the assembled mahārathas could kill him despite his standing in the thick of combat. The question intensifies the grief and points toward the controversial circumstances of his killing.