Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अकृत्वा वचनं तात केशवस्य महात्मन: । श्रेयो न जातु न सुखं न कल्याणमवाप्स्यसि,“तात! महात्मा केशवकी बात न माननेसे तुम कभी श्रेय, सुख और कल्याण नहीं पा सकोगे

Transliteration

akṛtvā vacanaṃ tāta keśavasya mahātmanaḥ | śreyo na jātu na sukhaṃ na kalyāṇam avāpsyasi ||

Translation

“My dear child, if you do not carry out the words of the great-souled Keśava, you will never attain what is truly beneficial—nor happiness, nor well-being.”

Word by Word

अकृत्वाnot having done / without doing

वचनम्word, instruction

तातO dear one / O son

केशवस्यof Keshava (Krishna)

महात्मनःof the great-souled

श्रेयोthe better (good), welfare

नnot

जातुever, at any time

नnot

सुखम्happiness, comfort

नnot

कल्याणम्well-being, auspicious good

अवाप्स्यसिyou will obtain

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ignoring the righteous counsel of a wise and noble guide—here, Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)—leads to the loss of śreyas (true good), sukha (happiness), and kalyāṇa (well-being). The verse frames obedience to dharmic guidance as essential for both ethical and practical flourishing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, the narrator Vaiśampāyana reports a pointed admonition: the addressee is warned that refusing to follow Keśava’s instruction will result in failure to attain welfare, happiness, and auspicious outcomes—underscoring the gravity of Kṛṣṇa’s counsel at this critical juncture.