Shloka 27

गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel

Devanagari script

शूरमानी न शूरस्त्वं मृषा वदसि भारत । शूरो5हमिति दुर्बुद्धे सर्वलोकस्य शृण्वत:,“तुम अपनेको शूर तो मानते हो, परंतु शूर हो नहीं। भरतवंशके खोटी बुद्धिवाले नरेश! तुम सब लोगोंके सुनते हुए व्यर्थ ही कहा करते हो कि “मैं शूरवीर हूँ”

Transliteration

śūramānī na śūras tvaṃ mṛṣā vadasi bhārata | śūro 'ham iti durbuddhe sarvalokasya śṛṇvataḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Du bildest dir nur ein, ein Held zu sein, doch wahrhaft heldenhaft bist du nicht. O Bhārata, o König mit verkehrtem Urteil—vor allen, die dich hören—sprichst du die Unwahrheit, wenn du ausrufst: ‚Ich bin ein Heldenkrieger.‘“

Word by Word

शूरमानीthinking oneself a hero / self-styled hero

नnot

शूरःa hero

त्वम्you

मृषाfalsely

वदसिyou speak / you say

भारतO Bharata

शूरःa hero

अहम्I

इतिthus / saying

दुर्बुद्धेO evil-minded one / O foolish one

सर्वलोकस्यof all people / of the whole world

शृण्वतःwhile (everyone) is listening / in the hearing of

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (address to a Kuru king)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns empty self-praise and insists that true heroism is proven by conduct, not by loud claims. Ethical speech—avoiding false boasting before others—is presented as integral to honor, especially in a warrior context.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a sharp rebuke directed at a Kuru king addressed as “Bhārata,” accusing him of falsely proclaiming himself a hero in front of everyone. The line functions as a public exposure of hollow bravado amid the tensions of the war narrative.