Shloka 12

Devanagari script

उवाच भरतश्रेष्ठ प्रसीदेति पुन: पुनः । क्षमस्व राजन यत्र प्रोक्त धर्मकामेन भीरुणा,“महाराज! तब अर्जुन लज्जित हो धर्मराजके चरणोंमें गिरकर मस्तक नवाकर उन भरतश्रेष्ठ नरेशसे बारंबार बोले--“राजन्‌! प्रसन्न होइये, प्रसन्न होइये। मैंने धर्मपालनकी इच्छासे भयभीत होकर जो अनुचित वचन कहा है, उसके लिये क्षमा कीजिये'

Transliteration

uvāca bharataśreṣṭha prasīdeti punaḥ punaḥ | kṣamasva rājan yatra proktaṃ dharmakāmena bhīruṇā ||

Translation

সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে— ভৰতশ্ৰেষ্ঠক সম্বোধি সি পুনঃ পুনঃ মিনতি কৰি ক’লে— “ৰাজন, প্ৰসন্ন হওক, প্ৰসন্ন হওক। ধৰ্ম ৰক্ষাৰ ইচ্ছাৰে, ভয়ত বিচলিত হৈ মই যি অনুচিত বাক্য কৈছিলোঁ, তাৰ বাবে মোক ক্ষমা কৰক।”

Word by Word

• {'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'bharataśreṣṭha': 'best of the Bharatas

• an honorific for a foremost Kuru king', 'prasīda / prasīdeti': 'be pleased

• be pacified', 'punaḥ punaḥ': 'again and again

• repeatedly', 'kṣamasva': 'forgive (imperative, 2nd person singular)', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'yatra': 'wherein

• for which (i.e., the matter in which)', 'proktam': 'spoken

• uttered', 'dharma-kāma': 'desiring dharma

• intent on righteousness/duty', 'bhīru': 'fearful

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bharataśreṣṭha (honorific addressee, i.e., the Kuru king)
• rājan (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when one believes one is acting for dharma, fear can lead to harsh or improper speech; ethical conduct requires acknowledging fault, showing humility, and seeking forgiveness from the rightful authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates a moment of reconciliation: a speaker addresses a Kuru king with repeated pleas for calm and pardon, admitting that earlier words were improper—spoken out of fear though motivated by concern for dharma.