Shloka 10

Varuṇa’s Bestowal of the Gāṇḍīva and the Arming of Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna

Khāṇḍava Prelude

Devanagari script

तदा यूय॑ पुनः सर्वाः स्वं रूप॑ प्रतिपत्स्यथ । अनृतं नोक्तपूर्व मे हसतापि कदाचन,जब जलनमें ग्राह बनकर लोगोंको पकड़नेवाली तुम सब अप्सराओंको कोई श्रेष्ठ पुरुष जलसे बाहर स्थलपर खींच लायेगा, उस समय तुम सब लोग फिर अपना दिव्य रूप प्राप्त कर लोगी। मैंने पहले कभी हँसीमें भी झूठ नहीं कहा है

Transliteration

tadā yūyaṁ punaḥ sarvāḥ svaṁ rūpaṁ pratipatsyatha | anṛtaṁ noktapūrvaṁ me hasatāpi kadācana ||

Translation

Der Brahmane sprach: „Dann werdet ihr alle aufs Neue eure eigene wahre (göttliche) Gestalt wiedererlangen. Ich habe niemals zuvor Unwahrheit gesprochen—zu keiner Zeit, nicht einmal im Lachen.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tadā', 'definition': 'then, at that time'}, {'term': 'yūyam', 'definition': 'you (plural)'}, {'term': 'punaḥ', 'definition': 'again'}, {'term': 'sarvāḥ', 'definition': 'all (feminine plural)'}, {'term': 'svam', 'definition': 'one’s own'}, {'term': 'rūpam', 'definition': 'form, appearance

• here: original divine form'}, {'term': 'pratipatsyatha', 'definition': 'you will attain/return to (2nd pl. future of prati-√pad)'}, {'term': 'anṛtam', 'definition': 'falsehood, untruth'}, {'term': 'na uktapūrvam', 'definition': 'not previously spoken (by me)'}, {'term': 'me', 'definition': 'by me / my'}, {'term': 'hasatā api', 'definition': 'even while laughing

• even in jest'}, {'term': 'kadācana', 'definition': 'ever, at any time'}]

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (a brāhmaṇa speaker)
• अप्सराः (apsarases, implied by context)
• जल (water, implied by context)
• ग्राह (crocodile/alligator form, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as a moral foundation: the brāhmaṇa’s credibility rests on never having uttered falsehood, not even in jest, making his promise of restoration ethically authoritative.

What is happening in the narrative?

The brāhmaṇa assures the afflicted female beings (apsarases in context) that they will regain their original divine forms at a destined moment, and he reinforces this prediction by declaring his lifelong commitment to truth.