Shloka 5
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
“यह पानीको रोककर सो रहा है। इसे यहाँ मनुष्यसे किसी प्रकारका भय नहीं है; क्योंकि यह इस दैवी मायाका प्रयोग करके जलके भीतर निवास करता है ।। निकृत्या निकृतिप्रज्ञो न मे जीवन् विमोक्ष्यते । यद्यस्य समरे साहां कुरुते वज्रभृत् स्वयम्
nikṛtyā nikṛtiprajño na me jīvan vimokṣyate | yady asya samare sāhāṃ kurute vajrabhṛt svayam ||
Sañjaya said: “Skilled in deceit through deceit, he shall not escape me alive—even if Indra himself, the bearer of the Vajra, were to aid him in battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns treachery and frames it as deserving decisive retribution: a person devoted to deceit is portrayed as beyond protection, even by divine aid, underscoring the epic’s moral pressure against adharma in war.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s fierce resolve: he vows that a deceitful opponent will not escape alive, declaring that even Indra’s direct support would not save him in the coming combat.