Shloka 34

Devanagari script

उपचीर्णों गुरुमिथ्या भवता राज्यकारणात्‌

Transliteration

upacīrṇoṁ gurumithyā bhavatā rājyakāraṇāt

Translation

Arjuna sprach: «Um der Königsherrschaft willen hast du deinen eigenen Lehrer mit Lüge angeklagt und ihm Unrecht getan—eine Tat, die die dem Guru geschuldete Ehrfurcht verletzt und das Streben nach Macht mit Trug befleckt.»

Word by Word

• उपचीर्णः: having served/attended (upon)
• उपचीर्णः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-चर् (क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गुरुम्: the teacher
• गुरुम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मिथ्या: falsely, wrongly
• मिथ्या: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मिथ्या

• भवता: by you
• भवता: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• राज्यकारणात्: because of the cause of kingship/for the sake of the kingdom
• राज्यकारणात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य-कारण
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• guru (teacher/preceptor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns gaining power through falsehood, especially when it involves betraying or maligning one’s teacher. It highlights that political ambition (rājya) cannot justify adharma such as deceit and disrespect toward the guru.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna addresses an opponent (or interlocutor) and charges him with having acted deceitfully against his own preceptor for the sake of securing sovereignty, framing the act as morally blameworthy within the wartime dispute.