अभिमन्युर् उवाच
अहम् एतत् प्रवेक्ष्यामि द्रोणानीकं दुरासदम् ॥
पतंग इव संक्रुद्धो ज्वलितं जातवेदसम् ॥
तत् कर्माद्य करिष्यामि हितं यद् वंशयोर् द्वयोः ॥
मातुलस्य च या प्रीतिर् भविष्यति पितुश् च मे ॥
शिशुनैकेन संग्रामे काल्यमानानि संघशः ॥
अद्य द्रक्ष्यन्ति भूतानि द्विषत्सैन्यानि वै मया ॥
abhimanyur uvāca
aham etat pravekṣyāmi droṇānīkaṃ durāsadam ||
pataṃga iva saṃkruddho jvalitaṃ jātavedasam ||
tat karmādya kariṣyāmi hitaṃ yad vaṃśayor dvayoḥ ||
mātulasya ca yā prītir bhaviṣyati pituś ca me ||
śiśunaikena saṃgrāme kālyamānāni saṃghaśaḥ ||
adya drakṣyanti bhūtāni dviṣatsainyāni vai mayā ||
"I shall enter this impregnable array of Drona, like a moth, inflamed, flying toward the blazing fire. Now I shall accomplish that deed which will serve the good of both lines, and become the joy of my uncle [Krishna] and my father. Now beings shall behold the enemy hosts, driven by me, a single youth, in crowds upon the battlefield."
ff4fac1a8f9f · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Abhimanyu himself compares himself to a moth flying toward the flame -- an image betraying that deep within he foresees his own death and yet throws himself into the fire. Here is both the unheeding courage of youth and a tragic foreboding. It is telling that what moves him is not self-interest but love -- the wish to gladden his father and uncle, to serve "both lines." The verse teaches that there is a courage that goes to death with open eyes, foreseeing it as a moth foresees the flame, and yet does not draw back; that its purest source is love for one's kin, not the thirst for glory; and that in this self-sacrifice of a youth flying into the fire for the joy of his father and uncle shines a love dearer than life itself -- yet it also burns as a reproach to those who accepted that sacrifice and failed to shield it.