Shloka 9
कर्णस्य एकाकि-प्रहारः तथा पाण्डव-महारथ-परिवेष्टनम् | Karṇa’s concentrated assault and the Pāṇḍava encirclement
धृष्टद्युम्नमहत्वाहं न विमोक्ष्यामि दंशनम् | अनृतायां प्रतिज्ञायां नाहं स्वर्गमवाप्रुयाम्,“मैं धृष्टद्युम्मको मारे बिना अपना कवच नहीं उतारूँगा।” यदि यह मेरी प्रतिज्ञा झूठी हो जाय तो मुझे स्वर्गलोककी प्राप्ति न हो
dhṛṣṭadyumnam ahatvāhaṁ na vimokṣyāmi daṁśanam | anṛtāyāṁ pratijñāyāṁ nāhaṁ svargam avāpruyām ||
Sañjaya said: “Unless I have slain Dhṛṣṭadyumna, I will not loosen or remove my armor. If this vow of mine should prove false, may I not attain heaven.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links personal honor to satya (truthfulness): a vow must be upheld, and to let it become untrue is treated as a moral failure with spiritual consequence (loss of svarga).
In the midst of the war account, a warrior’s resolve is reported: he declares he will not remove his armor until Dhṛṣṭadyumna is slain, and he stakes his heavenly merit on the truth of that pledge.