Shloka 83
Droṇa’s sweeping assault and the Abhimanyu–Jayadratha close-quarters episode (द्रोणस्य भीषणव्यचरितम् / सौभद्र-जयद्रथ-संनिपातः)
प्रतीपो नाहमाचार्ये भवेयं वै कथंचन । पाण्डुनन्दन! इस नीतिके अनुसार बर्ताव करते हुए मैं युद्धमें अपने प्राणोंका परित्याग कर दूँगा; परंतु किसी प्रकार भी आचार्यका शत्रु नहीं बनूँगा
pratīpo nāham ācārye bhaveyaṃ vai kathaṃcana | pāṇḍunandana! asya nīter anusarān vartamānaḥ ahaṃ yuddhe svaprāṇān parityajiṣyāmi; parantu kathaṃcid api ācāryasya śatruḥ na bhaviṣyāmi ||
Arjuna said: “I will never, under any circumstance, become hostile to my teacher. O son of Pāṇḍu, abiding by this principle of right conduct, I will give up my life on the battlefield; yet I will not, in any way, turn into an enemy of the Ācārya.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic boundary in warfare: even amid a righteous battle, Arjuna refuses to become an enemy to his guru. It frames loyalty to one’s teacher as a moral constraint that can outweigh even self-preservation.
During the Droṇa Parva, as Droṇa leads the Kaurava forces, Arjuna expresses to Pāṇḍunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira) his resolve that he may die in battle, but he will not adopt an attitude of enmity toward his preceptor, indicating the tension between battlefield necessity and reverence for the guru.