Shloka 2
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
अभिमन्योर्वध॑ वीर: सो>त्यक्रामन्महामति: । अप्रियं वसुदेवस्य मा भूदिति महामति:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | abhimanyor vadhaṁ vīraḥ so ’tyakrāman mahāmatiḥ | apriyaṁ vasudevasya mā bhūd iti mahāmatiḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。あの勇者にして大智の人は、「ヴァスデーヴァに不快のことが起こらぬように」と思い、アビマンニュの戦死の話を意図して飛ばした。思慮深い智慧によって、その痛ましい段を省き、長老が孫の死を聞いて悲嘆に打たれぬようにしたのである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wisdom includes sensitivity: even truthful speech may be ethically moderated when it would cause needless anguish to an innocent elder. The verse highlights compassionate restraint—avoiding harsh or grief-inducing details when no dharmic purpose is served by stating them at that moment.
In the course of recounting the war story, the narrator notes that the speaker intentionally skips the episode of Abhimanyu’s death, fearing it would bring painful grief to Vasudeva upon hearing of his grandson’s fate.