Shloka 34

उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः

Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya

Devanagari script

अधुर्यवच्च वोढव्ये मन्‍्ये मरणमेव तत्‌ | तू रूप, यौवन, विद्या और कुलीनतासे सम्पन्न है, यशस्वी तथा लोकमें विख्यात है। तुझ-जैसा वीर पुरुष यदि पराक्रमके अवसरपर डर जाय, भार ढोनेके समय बिना नथे हुए बैलके समान बैठ रहे या भाग जाय तो मैं इसे तेरा मरण ही समझती हूँ ।।

Transliteration

adhuryavac ca voḍhavye manye maraṇam eva tat | yadi tvām anupaśyāmi parasya priyavādinam |

Translation

Solch schändliche Rede zu ertragen, dünkt mich nichts anderes als der Tod. Wenn ich dich sehen sollte, wie du dem Feind schmeichelnde Worte sagst, um seine Gunst zu suchen, statt in Tapferkeit standhaft zu bleiben—dann wäre das für mich der Tod deiner Ehre.

Word by Word

• {'adhurya-vac': 'dishonorable / disgraceful speech

• words that bring shame', 'ca': 'and', 'voḍhavye': 'to be borne, to be endured (gerundive

• ‘fit/necessary to carry/endure’)', 'manye': 'I think, I consider', 'maraṇam': 'death', 'eva': 'indeed, only, just', 'tat': 'that', 'yadi': 'if', 'tvām': 'you (accusative singular)', 'anupaśyāmi': 'I see, I behold', 'parasya': 'of another

• of the enemy/opponent', 'priya-vādinam': 'one who speaks pleasing/flattering words

Speaker

पुत्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• putra (speaker designation: ‘the son’)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse equates enduring dishonor—especially cowardly appeasement of an opponent—with a kind of death. It upholds the ethic that for a warrior, loss of courage and integrity at the decisive moment destroys one’s true life: honor and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

A close relation (marked here as ‘the son’ in the speaker tag) rebukes and warns the addressed hero: do not tolerate shameful conduct, and do not try to win over the enemy with flattering speech. The speaker presses the addressee toward steadfastness and valor in the looming conflict.