Shloka 11
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
त्वयि प्राणा ममायत्ता: कुरूणां कुरुनन्दन । स कस्मात् प्राणदो<न्येषां प्राणात् संत्यक्तवानसि
tvayi prāṇā mamāyattāḥ kurūṇāṁ kurunandana | sa kasmāt prāṇado 'nyeṣāṁ prāṇāt saṁtyaktavān asi ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O ligaya ng mga Kuru, ang aking buhay—at ang buhay ng mga tao ng Kuru—ay nakasalalay sa iyo. Ikaw na tagapagbigay at tagapangalaga ng buhay ng iba, paano mo nagawang talikuran ang sarili mong buhay?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of responsibility: one who sustains others—especially a protector or leader—must recognize that many lives depend on him. Abandoning one’s own life is portrayed not merely as personal withdrawal but as a moral rupture affecting dependents.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the events, voices a lament addressed to a Kuru hero (Kurunandana). The speaker expresses shock that someone regarded as a ‘giver of life’ to others has himself relinquished life, emphasizing the dependence of the narrator and the Kuru people upon him.