Shloka 73
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
हन्यामहं केशव तं प्रसहा भीमो हन्यात् तूबरकेति चोक्त: । तन्मे राजा प्रोक्तवांस्ते समक्ष॑ धनुर्देहीत्यसकृद् वृष्णिवीर
arjuna uvāca | hanyām ahaṃ keśava taṃ prasahā bhīmo hanyāt tūbaraketi coktaḥ | tan me rājā proktavāṃs te samakṣaṃ dhanur dehīty asakṛd vṛṣṇivīra ||
Arjuna sprach: „O Keśava, den Mann, der so etwas zu mir sagt, würde ich mit Gewalt erschlagen; und auch Bhīma würde jeden töten, der ihn ‘tūbaraka’ (bartlos) nennt. Denn der König (Yudhiṣṭhira) hat mir wieder und wieder—gerade in deiner Gegenwart, o Held der Vṛṣṇis—gesagt: ‘Gib deinen Bogen weg.’“
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rigid vows tied to personal honor can collide with dharma when spoken words provoke violence. It implicitly raises the ethical question: should one be bound to a rash vow, or should restraint and discernment override pride—especially among allies in a righteous cause.
Arjuna tells Kṛṣṇa that he has a vow to kill anyone who orders him to give away his bow, and he notes a similar vow of Bhīma regarding an insulting epithet. He then points out that Yudhiṣṭhira has repeatedly told him—right in Kṛṣṇa’s presence—to give away his bow, creating a dangerous moral and emotional crisis within the Pāṇḍava camp.