Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अर्जुनेन प्रतिज्ञातमार्तेन हतबन्धुना

Transliteration

arjunena pratijñātam ārtena hata-bandhunā

Translation

Sañjaya said: “This was the vow made by Arjuna—made in anguish, after his kinsmen had been slain—binding him to a course of action driven by grief and duty amid the moral pressure of war.”

Word by Word

• अर्जुनेन: by Arjuna
• अर्जुनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुन
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रतिज्ञातम्: promised, vowed
• प्रतिज्ञातम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिज्ञा (√ज्ञा)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• आर्तेन: by the afflicted/distressed (one)
• आर्तेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्त
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• हतबन्धुना: by one whose kinsmen are slain
• हतबन्धुना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत-बन्धु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A vow (pratijñā) taken under grief can become a powerful moral and psychological force: it channels sorrow into duty and action, yet also risks narrowing ethical judgment in the heat of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya frames Arjuna’s resolve as a formal vow made after suffering bereavement. The line highlights that Arjuna’s subsequent actions are propelled by both personal loss and the warrior’s obligation to respond within the battlefield’s code.