Shloka 21
“आपको युद्धस्थलमें बहुत-से महारथियोंद्वारा मारा गया देख आपके पिता पुरुषसिंह वीर पाण्डव अर्जुन कैसे जी रहे हैं?
yuddhasthale bahubhir mahārathair hataṁ tvāṁ dṛṣṭvā tava pitā puruṣasiṁhaḥ vīraḥ pāṇḍavaḥ arjunaḥ kathaṁ jīvati?
Seeing you slain on the battlefield by many great chariot-warriors, how does your father—Arjuna, the heroic Pāṇḍava, lion among men—still continue to live? The question underscores the unbearable moral and emotional weight that war places upon kinship and duty.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even the greatest heroes are morally and emotionally tested when confronted with the death of loved ones. It points to the tension between kṣatriya-duty in battle and the enduring obligations of family and compassion.
Vaiśampāyana reports a lamenting question addressed to the slain person: since you were killed on the battlefield by many mighty warriors, how can your father Arjuna—renowned for strength and valor—still remain alive, implying overwhelming grief and shock in the war’s aftermath.