Shloka 29
Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)
ननु नामाद्य वैराटि श्रुत्वा मम गिरं सदा | भवनान्निष्पतत्याशु कस्मान्नाभ्येति ते पति:,“विराटकुमारी! जो सदा मेरी आवाज सुनकर शीघ्र घरसे निकल पड़ता था, वही तुम्हारा पति आज मेरे पास क्यों नहीं आता है?
nanu nāmādya vairāṭi śrutvā mama giraṃ sadā | bhavanān niṣpataty āśu kasmān nābhyeti te patiḥ ||
毗舍ṃ波耶那说：“毗罗吒的公主啊，那位一听见我的声音便立刻从屋中奔出的男子——为何今日你的夫君却不来见我？”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of absence caused by death and the social reality of mourning: habitual duties and responses cease, prompting compassionate inquiry and recognition of impermanence after war.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses the Virāṭa princess (Uttarā), noting that her husband—who formerly would promptly come when called—does not approach now, implying a grave change in circumstances and setting a tone of lament in the post-war context.