Shloka 34
Subhadrā-vilāpaḥ — Subhadrā’s Lament for Abhimanyu
Droṇa-parva 55
विलपन्तं निशम्याथ पुत्रशोकहतं नृपम्
vilapantaṁ niśamyātha putraśokahataṁ nṛpam
Hearing the king lamenting—struck down by grief for his son—Vyāsa then addressed the situation, framing the scene in the moral weight of bereavement amid the calamities of war.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and human reality that even kings are vulnerable to personal grief; it sets the stage for counsel that grief must be met with discernment (dharma) and steadiness, especially amid the destructive momentum of war.
A king is heard lamenting, overwhelmed by sorrow for his son. Vyāsa, as narrator and sage, notes this and prepares to respond—typically to guide, console, or interpret events within the larger moral framework of the epic.