Shloka 9

कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

अन्यस्मै देहि गाण्डीवमिति मां योडभिचोदयेत्‌,“जो मुझसे यह कह दे कि तुम अपना गाण्डीव धनुष दूसरेको दे दो, उसका मैं सिर काट लूँगा।' मैंने मन-ही-मन यह प्रतिज्ञा कर रखी है। अनन्त पराक्रमी गोविन्द! आपके सामने ही इन महाराजने मुझसे वह बात कही है, अतः मैं इन्हें क्षमा नहीं कर सकता; इन धर्मभीरु नरेशका वध करूँगा

Transliteration

anyasmai dehi gāṇḍīvam iti māṁ yo 'bhi-codayet | tasya śiraś chindiyām iti mayā manasi pratijñātam | ananta-parākrama govinda! tvat-sannidhau eva eṣa mahārājaḥ mām etad avadat; tasmād enaṁ na kṣamāmi | imaṁ dharma-bhīruṁ nṛpaṁ haniṣyāmi ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Wer immer mich drängt: ‚Gib den Gāṇḍīva einem anderen‘ — dem habe ich im Stillen gelobt, ihm den Kopf abzuschlagen. O Govinda von grenzenloser Kraft! Dieser große König hat mir genau diese Worte in deiner Gegenwart gesagt; darum kann ich ihm nicht verzeihen. Ich werde diesen König töten, obgleich er einer ist, der sich scheut, das Dharma zu übertreten.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'anyasmai', 'definition': 'to another person

• for someone else (dative singular)'}, {'term': 'dehi', 'definition': 'give! (imperative of √dā)'}, {'term': 'gāṇḍīvam', 'definition': 'the Gāṇḍīva bow (Arjuna’s famed bow)'}, {'term': 'abhi-codayet', 'definition': 'should urge, press, incite (causative/impelling sense)'}, {'term': 'śiraḥ', 'definition': 'head'}, {'term': 'chindiyām', 'definition': 'I would cut off (optative/volitional form of √chid)'}, {'term': 'manasi', 'definition': 'in the mind, inwardly'}, {'term': 'pratijñātam', 'definition': 'vowed, solemnly promised'}, {'term': 'ananta-parākrama', 'definition': 'of endless/boundless valor'}, {'term': 'govinda', 'definition': 'Govinda (epithet of Kṛṣṇa)'}, {'term': 'tvat-sannidhau', 'definition': 'in your presence'}, {'term': 'mahārājaḥ', 'definition': 'great king'}, {'term': 'kṣamāmi', 'definition': 'I forgive (√kṣam)'}, {'term': 'dharma-bhīru', 'definition': 'one who fears (deviation from) dharma

• scrupulous about righteousness'}, {'term': 'nṛpa', 'definition': 'king'}, {'term': 'haniṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I will slay (future of √han)'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Govinda (Kṛṣṇa)
• Arjuna (implied as owner of Gāṇḍīva)
• Gāṇḍīva (bow)
• Mahārāja (unnamed king addressed in context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between a personal vow (pratijñā) and the broader demands of dharma: a warrior’s commitment to honor and promise can harden into unforgiving violence, even against someone described as dharma-conscious. It invites reflection on when vows uphold righteousness and when they become instruments of wrath.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker (reported by Sañjaya) recalls having inwardly vowed to kill anyone who tells him to give the Gāṇḍīva to another. Since a great king has spoken this provocation in Kṛṣṇa’s presence, he declares he cannot pardon it and resolves to kill that king, despite calling him ‘dharma-bhīru’ (scrupulous about dharma).