Shloka 75
यथा प्रतिज्ञा मम लोकबुद्धौ भवेत् सत्या धर्मभृतां वरिष्ठ । यथा जीवेत् पाण्डवो<हं च कृष्ण तथा बुद्धि दातुमप्यर्हसि त्वम्,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ श्रीकृष्ण! संसारके लोगोंकी समझमें जिस प्रकार मेरी प्रतिज्ञा सच्ची हो जाय और जिस प्रकार पाण्डुपुत्र राजा युधिष्ठिर और मैं दोनों जीवित रह सकें, वैसी कोई सलाह आप मुझे देनेकी कृपा करें
yathā pratijñā mama lokabuddhau bhavet satyā dharmabhṛtāṃ variṣṭha | yathā jīvet pāṇḍavo 'haṃ ca kṛṣṇa tathā buddhiṃ dātum apy arhasi tvam ||
Arjuna said: “O Kṛṣṇa, best among the upholders of dharma, grant me such counsel that, in the understanding of the world, my vow may be seen as true—and that both the Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) and I may remain alive. Show me a way in which truthfulness to my pledge and the preservation of our lives can stand together.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic tension: keeping one’s vow in a way that is recognized as truthful by society, while also protecting life. Arjuna seeks Kṛṣṇa’s guidance to reconcile truthfulness, reputation, and the ethical imperative to preserve the righteous.
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva battle context, Arjuna turns to Kṛṣṇa for strategic-ethical counsel. He asks for a plan by which his prior pledge can stand as ‘true’ in public estimation, yet both Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna can survive—showing the pressure of vows amid wartime exigencies.