Shloka 33
अर्जुनस्य सैन्धवाभिमुखगमनम् तथा विन्दानुविन्दयोर्वधः
Arjuna’s advance toward Saindhava and the fall of Vinda–Anuvinda
आत्मापहारिणां या च या च मिथ्याभिशंसिनाम् | भृत्यै: संदिश्यमानानां पुत्रदाराश्रितैस्तथा,नंगे नहानेवाले तथा अतिथिको भोजन दिये बिना ही उसे असफल लौटा देनेवाले पुरुषकी जो गति होती है; घूसखोर, असत्यवादी तथा दूसरोंके साथ वंचना (ठगी) करनेवालोंकी जो दुर्गति होती है; आत्माका हनन करनेवाले, दूसरोंपर झूठे दोषारोपण करनेवाले, भृत्योंकी आज्ञाके अधीन रहनेवाले तथा स्त्री, पुत्र एवं आश्रित जनोंके साथ यथायोग्य बँटवारा किये बिना ही अकेले मिष्टान्न उड़ानेवाले क्षुद्र पुरुषोंको जिस घोर नारकी गतिकी प्राप्ति होती है, यदि मैं कल जयद्रथको न मारूँ तो मुझे भी वही दुर्गति प्राप्त हो
arjuna uvāca | ātmāpahāriṇāṃ yā ca yā ca mithyābhiśaṃsinām | bhṛtyaiḥ saṃdiśyamānānāṃ putradārāśritais tathā | anagne snānavatāṃ tathā atithiko bhojanaṃ adātvā niṣphalaṃ pratinivartayataḥ | ghūṣakhorāṇāṃ asatyavādināṃ ca vañcakānāṃ ca yā durgatiḥ | ātmāhanana-kāriṇāṃ pareṣāṃ mithyā-doṣāropa-kāriṇāṃ bhṛtyādhīnānāṃ ca strī-putrāśrita-janeṣu yathāyogya-vibhāgaṃ akṛtvā kevalaṃ miṣṭānnam aśnatāṃ kṣudra-puruṣāṇāṃ yā ghorā nārakī gatiḥ | yadi ahaṃ śvaḥ jayadrathaṃ na hanyāṃ tadā mama api sā eva durgatiḥ syāt ||
Arjuna said: “May I meet the same dreadful, hellish fate that befalls those who steal another’s very self, those who slander with false accusations, those who live under the orders of their servants, and those who—dependent on wife, sons, and others—consume delicacies alone without making a proper share—if tomorrow I do not slay Jayadratha.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Arjuna’s vow in ethical terms: failure to fulfill a righteous resolve (here, to punish a grave wrong) is equated with notorious adharma—corruption, deceit, slander, neglect of hospitality, and selfish consumption—implying that moral accountability applies even amid war.
After Abhimanyu’s killing and Jayadratha’s role in blocking the Pandavas, Arjuna publicly binds himself by a severe oath: if he does not kill Jayadratha the next day, he accepts the same hellish fate as major sinners, intensifying the urgency of the coming battle.