Shloka 34

सुभद्राहरणम्

Subhadrā-haraṇa: Arjuna’s Taking of Subhadrā and the Dvārakā Assembly’s Response

Devanagari script

अर्जुन उवाच न व्याजेन चरेद्‌ धर्ममिति मे भवतः श्रुतम्‌ । न सत्याद्‌ विचलिष्यामि सत्येनायुधभालभे,अर्जुन बोले--प्रभो! मैंने आपके ही मुखसे सुना है कि धर्माचरणमें कभी बहानेबाजी नहीं करनी चाहिये। अतः मैं सत्यकी शपथ खाकर और शस्त्र छूकर कहता हूँ कि सत्यसे विचलित नहीं होऊँगा

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca na vyājena cared dharmam iti me bhavataḥ śrutam | na satyād vicaliṣyāmi satyenāyudhabhālabe ||

Translation

অর্জুন বলল—প্রভো, আপনার মুখ থেকেই শুনেছি যে অজুহাত করে ধর্মাচরণ করা উচিত নয়। অতএব সত্যের শপথ নিয়ে এবং অস্ত্র স্পর্শ করে আমি ঘোষণা করছি—আমি সত্য থেকে বিচ্যুত হব না।

Word by Word

{'arjuna uvāca''Arjuna said', 'na': 'not', 'vyājena': 'by a pretext, by subterfuge, with an excuse', 'cared (caret)': 'should practice, should conduct oneself', 'dharmam': 'dharma

moral law', 'iti''thus

as (quoted)', 'me''by me

to me', 'bhavataḥ''from you (honorific)

of your', 'śrutam''heard', 'na vicaliṣyāmi': 'I will not waver

I will not deviate', 'satyāt''from truth', 'satyena': 'by truth

with truth (as vow/means)', 'āyudha''weapon(s)', 'bhālabe': 'on the handle/hilt/grip (of a weapon)

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

bhavat (honorific addressee, unnamed in the verse)

āyudha (weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma should not be pursued through excuses or deceptive justifications; steadfast commitment to satya (truth) is presented as the ethical anchor, affirmed through a solemn vow.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna addresses an honored interlocutor, recalls the teaching he received about non-evasive dharma, and then publicly binds himself to truth by taking an oath while touching his weapons—an emphatic pledge of unwavering integrity.