Mahabharata 7.33.9 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 33, Shloka 9
Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa
Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment
वरं दत्त्वा मम प्रीतः पश्चाद् विकृतवानसि । आशाभड़ूं न कुर्वन्ति भक्तस्यार्या: कंचन
varaṁ dattvā mama prītaḥ paścād vikṛtavān asi | āśābhaṅgaṁ na kurvanti bhaktasyāryāḥ kañcana ||
Sañjaya sagte: „Zufrieden hast du mir zuerst eine Gabe (einen Segen) gewährt und sie später wieder zurückgenommen. Doch Edle zerstören niemals, auf welche Weise auch immer, die Hoffnung eines ihnen ergebenen Menschen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical ideal: noble people do not break the hope of a devoted person. It implies that granting a boon or assurance creates a moral obligation, and reversing it is contrary to ārya-dharma (the conduct of the honorable).
Sañjaya speaks in a tone of reproach: he recalls that someone, pleased, granted him a boon earlier but later changed or withdrew it. He appeals to the standard of noble conduct—especially toward a loyal devotee—to argue that such a reversal should not occur.
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