Shloka 30
बभ्रुवाहन-धनंजययोः संग्रामः
Babhruvāhana and Dhanaṃjaya’s engagement at Maṇipūra
त्वामागतं च संश्रुत्य युद्धाय हयसारिणम् । पितुश्न मृत्युदुःखातोंडजहात् प्राणान् धनंजय
tvām āgataṃ ca saṃśrutya yuddhāya hayasāriṇam | pituś ca mṛtyu-duḥkhārto jahāt prāṇān dhanaṃjaya ||
वैशंपायन म्हणाले—“धनंजया! तू यज्ञ-अश्वाच्या मागोमाग येऊन युद्धासाठी इथे आला आहेस, असे ऐकताच तो पित्याच्या मृत्यूच्या दुःखाने दग्ध होऊन प्राण सोडून बसला. तुझ्या आगमनाच्या वार्तेने जुनी शोकजखम पुन्हा उघडली आणि निराशेने त्याला ग्रासले.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological aftermath of warfare: even when actions are undertaken under royal duty (such as the Aśvamedha campaign), the memory of past killings can trigger renewed trauma and despair in others. It implicitly warns that violence leaves enduring social and emotional consequences beyond the battlefield.
During the Aśvamedhika Parva, Arjuna is moving with the sacrificial horse and encounters resistance. Here, Vaiśampāyana reports that someone, upon hearing Arjuna has arrived for battle in connection with the horse, becomes overwhelmed by grief over his father’s earlier death and gives up his life.