Shloka 65

Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals

Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness

Devanagari script

ऋते प्रायगतं राजन्‌ न्यस्तशस्त्रमचेतनम्‌ । हन्यान्मां युधि योधानां सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि ते

Transliteration

ṛte prāyagataṃ rājan nyastaśastram acetanam | hanyān māṃ yudhi yodhānāṃ satyam etad bravīmi te ||

Translation

O König, außer wenn ich das Gelübde des Fastens bis zum Tod auf mich genommen habe—die Waffen niedergelegt und wie ohne Bewusstsein sitzend—kann mich niemand erschlagen. Nur in jenem Zustand könnte mich ein erstrangiger Krieger im Kampf töten. Dies sage ich dir als Wahrheit.

Word by Word

• {'ṛte': 'except, apart from', 'prāyagatam (prāyopagatam)': 'one who has undertaken prāya (fasting unto death), one resolved on death by religious fast', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'nyasta-śastram': 'having laid down weapons

• disarmed', 'acetanam': 'unconscious

• as if without awareness', 'hanyāt': 'might kill

• could slay (optative of √han)', 'mām': 'me', 'yudhi': 'in battle', 'yodhānām': 'of warriors', 'satyam': 'truth', 'etat': 'this', 'bravīmi': 'I say, I declare', 'te': 'to you'}

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• rājan (the king addressed)
• śastra (weapons)
• prāya/prāyopaveśa (fasting unto death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic boundary in warfare: a warrior who has renounced fighting by laying down arms and undertaking a death-fast is no longer a proper target. Yudhiṣṭhira frames his vulnerability only in that renunciatory state, underscoring ideals of restraint, honor, and truthfulness even amid war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king and states that he cannot be slain in ordinary combat; only if he abandons weapons and sits for a fast unto death—appearing unconscious or withdrawn—could a great warrior kill him. He insists he is speaking truthfully, indicating a tense moment where questions of killing, surrender, and dharma are being weighed.