Shloka 5
Kṛṣṇopadeśa and Duryodhana’s Challenge
Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 77
पितर: सहगन्धर्वा: सुपर्णा: सागराद्रय: । द्यौर्वियत् पृथिवी चेयं दिशश्व॒ सदिगीश्वरा:,मधुसूदन श्रीकृष्ण! यदि साध्य, रुद्र, वसु, अश्विनीकुमार, इन्द्रसहित मरुद्गण, विश्वेदेव, देवेश्वरगण, पितर, गन्धर्व, गरुड़, समुद्र, पर्वत, स्वर्ग, आकाश, यह पृथ्वी, दिशाएँ, दिक्पाल, गाँवों तथा जंगलोंमें निवास करनेवाले प्राणी और सम्पूर्ण चराचर जीव भी सिन्धुराज जयद्रथकी रक्षाके लिये उद्यत हो जायेँ तो भी मैं सत्यकी शपथ खाकर और अपना धनुष छूकर कहता हूँ कि कल युद्धमें आप मेरे बाणोंद्वारा जयद्रथको मारा गया देखेंगे
pitaraḥ sahagandharvāḥ suparṇāḥ sāgarādrayaḥ | dyaur viyat pṛthivī ceyaṃ diśaś ca sadigīśvarāḥ ||
Arjuna said: “Even if the Pitṛs along with the Gandharvas, Garuḍa and the great oceans and mountains—indeed heaven, the sky, this earth, the directions together with their guardian lords—were all to rise up to protect Jayadratha, I swear by truth and, touching my bow, declare this: tomorrow in battle you will see Jayadratha slain by my arrows.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) and personal accountability: Arjuna binds himself by a truth-pledge and the sanctity of his weapon, asserting that even cosmic forces cannot overturn a righteous, duty-bound resolve once publicly vowed.
After Jayadratha’s role in Abhimanyu’s death, Arjuna makes a solemn, public vow before Kṛṣṇa that he will kill Jayadratha the next day. He intensifies the oath by invoking vast cosmic beings and realms as potential defenders, declaring that none can prevent Jayadratha’s fall by his arrows.