Shloka 11
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
त्वयि प्राणा ममायत्ता: कुरूणां कुरुनन्दन । स कस्मात् प्राणदो<न्येषां प्राणात् संत्यक्तवानसि,“कुरुनन्दन! मेरे और कौरवोंके प्राण तुम्हारे ही अधीन हैं। तुम तो दूसरोंके प्राणदाता हो, तुमने स्वयं कैसे प्राण त्याग दिये?”
tvayi prāṇā mamāyattāḥ kurūṇāṁ kurunandana | sa kasmāt prāṇado 'nyeṣāṁ prāṇāt saṁtyaktavān asi ||
اے کُرو نندن! میری جان اور کُروؤں کی جانیں تم پر ہی موقوف ہیں۔ تم تو دوسروں کے جان بخشنے والے ہو؛ پھر تم نے اپنی جان کیسے چھوڑ دی؟
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.