Shloka 18
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
अस्मिन् हि बहव: साधो ये ममासन् मनोरथा: । ते द्रोणपुत्रेण हता: कि नु जीवामि केशव
asmin hi bahavaḥ sādho ye mamāsan manorathāḥ | te droṇaputreṇa hatāḥ ki nu jīvāmi keśava |
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi Keśava cao quý, nơi đứa trẻ này ta đã gửi gắm bao hy vọng lớn lao. Con trai của Droṇa đã giết sạch tất cả. Nay ta còn sống để làm gì?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and psychological collapse that follows adharma-driven violence: when hopes invested in the next generation are annihilated, the survivor confronts purposelessness. It sets up the need for dharmic counsel—how to endure grief without surrendering to despair.
A grieving speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), lamenting that all the hopes placed in a child have been destroyed by Droṇa’s son, Aśvatthāman. The line expresses acute bereavement and a wish to give up life, reflecting the devastation after the night slaughter.