Shloka 43
कृतं मया पार्थ यथा न साधु येन प्राप्तं व्यसनं व: सुघोरम्,“कुन्तीनन्दन! अवश्य ही मैंने अच्छा कर्म नहीं किया है, जिससे तुमलोगोंपर अत्यन्त भयंकर संकट आ पड़ा है। मैं कुलान्तकारी नराधम पापी, पापमय दुर्व्यसनमें आसक्त, मूढ़बुद्धि, आलसी और डरपोक हूँ; इसलिये आज तुम मेरा यह मस्तक काट डालो
kṛtaṃ mayā pārtha yathā na sādhu yena prāptaṃ vyasanaṃ vaḥ sughoram | kuntīnandana! avaśya hi mayā naiva śubhaṃ karma kṛtaṃ yena yuṣmāsu atyanta-bhayaṅkaraṃ saṅkaṭam āpatitam | ahaṃ kulāntakārī narādhamaḥ pāpī pāpamaya-durvyasane āsaktaḥ mūḍhabuddhiḥ ālasya-paro bhīruś ca; tasmād adya tvaṃ mama idaṃ mastakaṃ chindhi ||
Sanjaya said: “O Partha, what I have done was not right; because of it, a most dreadful calamity has come upon you. O son of Kunti, surely I did not perform a good deed—by which an exceedingly terrible संकट has fallen on you all. I am a wretch, a sinner who brings ruin upon the family line, addicted to sinful vices, dull-witted, slothful, and cowardly. Therefore, today cut off this head of mine.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability: wrongful action (na sādhu) brings severe consequences (sughoram vyasanam). It also shows an ethical impulse toward atonement—accepting blame and offering oneself for punishment—though expressed in extreme self-condemnation.
Sanjaya addresses Arjuna (Partha, Kuntīnandana), confessing that his own improper conduct has led to a dreadful संकट for the Pandavas. Overwhelmed by guilt, he denounces himself with harsh epithets and urges Arjuna to punish him by cutting off his head.