Shloka 23

भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength

Devanagari script

नद्वितीयां प्रतिज्ञां हि प्रतिजानामि कैतव । सत्यं॑ ब्रवीम्यहं होतत्‌ सर्व सत्यं भविष्यति,'शकुनिपुत्र! मैं दूसरी बार प्रतिज्ञा करना नहीं जानता। तुझसे सच्ची बात कहता हूँ। यह सब कुछ सत्य होकर रहेगा।' तत्पश्चात्‌ युधिष्ठिरने भी धूर्त जुआरीके पुत्र उलूकसे इस प्रकार कहा--'वत्स उलूक! तू दुर्योधनके पास जाकर मेरी यह बात कहना --

Transliteration

na dvitīyāṁ pratijñāṁ hi pratijānāmi kaitava | satyaṁ bravīmy ahaṁ hotat sarvaṁ satyaṁ bhaviṣyati |

Translation

„O Betrüger, ich weiß nicht, ein Gelübde ein zweites Mal abzulegen. Ich sage dir die Wahrheit: All dies wird gewiss als Wahrheit eintreffen.“ Danach wandte sich Yudhiṣṭhira auch an Ulūka — den Sohn des listigen Spielers — und sprach: „Lieber Ulūka, geh zu Duryodhana und überbringe ihm diese Botschaft von mir …“

Word by Word

नnot

द्वितीयाम्second

प्रतिज्ञाम्promise, vow

हिindeed, for

प्रतिजानामिI promise, I vow

कैतवO cheat, O gambler

सत्यम्truth

ब्रवीमिI say, I speak

अहम्I

होतत्as read: unclear; likely 'indeed that/this'

सर्वम्all (this)

सत्यम्true

भविष्यतिwill be, will come to pass

शकुनि-पुत्रO son of Shakuni

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yudhiṣṭhira

Ulūka

Duryodhana

Śakuni

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 highlights the ethical weight of a vow made in truth: a righteous person does not repeatedly re-pledge for effect, but speaks once with integrity and stands by it. Truth (satya) is presented as performative and binding—what is spoken in righteousness is expected to become reality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates a tense exchange in which a speaker rebukes a deceitful interlocutor and affirms that what has been declared will surely occur. Immediately after, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Ulūka (Śakuni’s son), instructing him to return to Duryodhana with a message—part of the charged diplomatic communications just before the outbreak of war.