Shloka 9
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
सदृशाक्षस्तव कथं शत्रुभिर्निहतो रणे । दुर्मरं बत वार्ष्णेय काले<प्राप्ते नृभि: सह
sadṛśākṣas tava kathaṁ śatrubhir nihato raṇe | durmaraṁ bata vārṣṇeya kāle prāpte nṛbhiḥ saha ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Sao Sadṛśākṣa, con trai của ngài, lại có thể bị kẻ thù giết trong chiến trận? Than ôi—hỡi Vārṣṇeya—khi thời khắc định mệnh đã đến, ngay cả người khó bề khuất phục cũng phải tận số, cùng với quân sĩ của mình.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical reflection that even the most formidable warrior is not beyond death when Kāla (the destined time) arrives; human prowess is limited, and outcomes in war are ultimately subject to fate and the moral order that frames mortality.
Vaiśampāyana reports a death in battle: Sadṛśākṣa, described as difficult to overcome, has been killed by enemies. The speaker addresses a “Vārṣṇeya,” lamenting that with the arrival of the appointed time, Sadṛśākṣa fell along with his men.