Shloka 29

Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

ननु नामाद्य वैराटि श्रुत्वा मम गिरं सदा | भवनान्निष्पतत्याशु कस्मान्नाभ्येति ते पति:,“विराटकुमारी! जो सदा मेरी आवाज सुनकर शीघ्र घरसे निकल पड़ता था, वही तुम्हारा पति आज मेरे पास क्यों नहीं आता है?

Transliteration

nanu nāmādya vairāṭi śrutvā mama giraṃ sadā | bhavanān niṣpataty āśu kasmān nābhyeti te patiḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഹേ വൈരാട്ടി കുമാരീ! എന്റെ ശബ്ദം കേട്ടാൽ എപ്പോഴും വീട്ടിൽ നിന്നു പെട്ടെന്ന് പുറപ്പെടുന്നവൻ—നിന്റെ ഭർത്താവ് ഇന്ന് എനിക്കരികേ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് വരുന്നില്ല?”

Word by Word

ननुindeed, surely (emphatic particle)

नामindeed, certainly (emphatic particle)

अद्यtoday, now

वैराटिO Virāṭa's daughter (Virāṭī)

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

ममof me, my

गिरम्speech, voice

सदाalways

भवनात्from the house

निष्पततिrushes out, darts forth

आशुquickly

कस्मात्from what cause? why?

नnot

अभ्येतिcomes near, approaches

तेof you, your

पतिःhusband, lord

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Virāṭī (Uttarā, princess of Virāṭa)

Uttarā’s husband (Abhimanyu, implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of absence caused by death and the social reality of mourning: habitual duties and responses cease, prompting compassionate inquiry and recognition of impermanence after war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses the Virāṭa princess (Uttarā), noting that her husband—who formerly would promptly come when called—does not approach now, implying a grave change in circumstances and setting a tone of lament in the post-war context.