Shloka 16
Uttarā-vilāpaḥ and Kṛṣṇasya satya-vacanenābhi-mañyu-jasyābhijīvanam
Uttarā’s Lament and the Revival of Abhimanyu’s Son by Krishna’s Truth-Act
गर्भस्थस्यास्य बालस्य ब्रह्मास्त्रेण निपातनम् | कृत्वा नृशंसं दुर्बुद्धिद्रीणि: कि फलमश्लुते
garbhasthasyāsya bālasya brahmāstreṇa nipātanam | kṛtvā nṛśaṁsaṁ durbuddhir droṇiḥ kiṁ phalam aśnute ||
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“以梵天神兵（Brahmāstra）击落这仍在胎中的婴儿，行此残忍之事后，恶心昏智的德罗纳之子阿湿婆他摩，如今究竟在收取怎样的‘果报’？”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, certain acts—especially violence against the utterly innocent, such as an unborn child—are condemned as nṛśaṁsa (cruel) and adharma. The verse frames the deed in terms of phala (moral consequence), underscoring that grievous wrongdoing inevitably yields a corresponding result.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana recalls Aśvatthāmā’s use of the Brahmāstra against the child still in the womb (the heir of the Pāṇḍavas, implied). He rhetorically asks what ‘fruit’ Aśvatthāmā is obtaining from such a merciless act, highlighting the ethical outrage and the expectation of retribution.