Shloka 9
जयद्रथवध-प्रतिज्ञा
Arjuna’s Vow to Neutralize Jayadratha
किंस्विद् वयमपेतार्थमश्लिष्टमसमञ्जसम् । तावुभौ प्रतिवक्ष्यामो हृषीकेशधनंजयौ,“हाय! हमलोग भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुन दोनोंके सामने किस प्रकार यह अनर्थपूर्ण, असंगत और अनुचित वृत्तान्त कह सकेंगे
sañjaya uvāca | kiṃ svid vayaṃ apetārtham aśliṣṭam asamañjasam | tāv ubhau prativakṣyāmo hṛṣīkeśa-dhanaṃjayau |
Sañjaya said: “How indeed shall we speak before those two—Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa) and Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna)—this account that is devoid of true purpose, incoherent, and improper? How can we report such a ruinous, ethically unsound narrative to them?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech and reporting are moral acts: one should hesitate to present a narrative that is purposeless, incoherent, or improper—especially before exemplars of discernment like Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. The verse highlights accountability in communication and the ethical weight of describing (or justifying) harmful events.
Sañjaya expresses anxiety about having to relate an unfortunate and questionable course of events to Kṛṣṇa (Hṛṣīkeśa) and Arjuna (Dhanaṃjaya). His words frame the coming report as something that feels wrong or indefensible, signaling tension and moral discomfort within the war’s unfolding.