Shloka 15
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
स्पर्धते सम रणे नित्यं दुहितु: पुत्रको मम | “मेरी बेटीका वह लाड़ला अभिमन्यु रणभूमिमें सदा द्रोणाचार्य
spardhate sama-raṇe nityaṁ duhituḥ putrako mama | evaṁvidhaṁ bahu tadā vilapantaṁ suduḥkhitam |
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Ang apo kong lalaki—anak ng aking anak na babae—ay laging sabik makipagtunggali sa makatarungang labanan. May tapang siyang sumukat ng sandata kahit kina Droṇa, Bhīṣma, at Karṇa—ang pinakadakila sa mga makapangyarihan. Maaari bang nagsama-sama sina Droṇa, Karṇa, Kṛpa at iba pa at sa pamamagitan ng panlilinlang ay pinatay ang batang iyon, kaya’t sa pagtataksil siya napabagsak at ngayo’y nakahandusay sa lupa? Keśava, sabihin mo sa akin ang lahat.” Sa gayon, noong sandaling iyon, siya’y naghinagpis nang matagal, nilamon ng matinding dalamhati.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts righteous, fair combat (sama-raṇa) with the moral stain of deceitful killing. It highlights how adharma in war—especially collective, treacherous violence against a lone youth—becomes a source of enduring grief and ethical questioning.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates a lament in which a grieving speaker recalls Abhimanyu’s fearless readiness to face even the greatest warriors and suspects that senior fighters (Droṇa, Karṇa, Kṛpa and others) may have killed him through stratagem. He appeals to Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) to disclose the truth, and continues lamenting in intense sorrow.