Shloka 33

Devanagari script

संजय उवाच एवमुक्तो महाबाहुर्यूपकेतुर्महायशा: । युयुधानं समुत्सृज्य रणे प्रायमुपाविशत्‌,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्‌! अर्जुनके ऐसा कहनेपर यूपके चिह्नसे युक्त ध्वजावाले महायशस्वी महाबाहु भूरिश्रवा सात्यकिको छोड़कर रणभूमिमें आमरण अनशनका नियम लेकर बैठ गये

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca evam ukto mahābāhur yūpaketur mahāyaśāḥ | yuyudhānaṃ samutsṛjya raṇe prāyam upāviśat ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, so angesprochen, ließ der mächtigarme, hochberühmte Krieger, dessen Banner das Zeichen des yūpa (des Opferpfahls) trug, Yuyudhāna frei und setzte sich noch auf dem Schlachtfeld nieder, indem er prāya auf sich nahm — das strenge Gelübde, bis zum Tod zu fasten.“

Word by Word

संजयःSanjaya

उवाचsaid

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been addressed / spoken to

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)

यूपकेतुःhe whose banner-mark is a sacrificial post (yūpa)

महायशाःhighly renowned

युयुधानम्Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)

समुत्सृज्यhaving abandoned / leaving aside

रणेin battle

प्रायम्fast unto death (prāya)

उपाविशत्sat down / took a seat

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)

Bhūriśravas (implied by epithet yūpaketu)

battlefield (raṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even within war, the Mahābhārata foregrounds moral choice: when a warrior perceives a breach of righteous conduct or an unbearable ethical crisis, he may seek expiation through self-restraint and austerity (prāya), asserting accountability rather than escalating violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Arjuna’s words, the famed warrior identified as yūpaketu (Bhūriśravas in context) releases Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) and sits down on the battlefield undertaking a fast unto death, marking a dramatic pause in combat and a shift to a vow-based response.