Shloka 67
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
पूर्वाह्न मां कृतजप्यं कदाचिद् विप्र: प्रोवाचोदकान्ते मनोज्ञम् । कर्तव्य॑ ते दुष्करं कर्म पार्थ योद्धव्यं ते शत्रुभि: सव्यसाचिन्,“एक दिनकी बात है, मैं पूर्वाह्ककालमें संध्या-वन्दन एवं गायत्रीजप करके आचमनके पश्चात् बैठा हुआ था, उस समय एक ब्राह्मणने आकर एकान्तमें मुझसे यह मधुर वचन कहा --कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम्हें दुष्कर कर्म करना है। सव्यसाचिन! तुम्हें अपने शत्रुओंके साथ युद्ध करना होगा। बोलो, क्या चाहते हो? इन्द्र उच्चै:श्रवा घोड़ेपर बैठकर वज्र हाथमें लिये तुम्हारे आगे-आगे समरभूमिमें शत्रुओंका नाश करते हुए चलें अथवा सुग्रीव आदि अश्वोंसे जुते हुए रथपर बैठकर वसुदेवनन्दन भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण पीछेकी ओरसे तुम्हारी रक्षा करें
sañjaya uvāca | pūrvāhṇe māṃ kṛtajapyaṃ kadācid vipraḥ provācodakānte manojñam | kartavyaṃ te duṣkaraṃ karma pārtha yoddhavyaṃ te śatrubhiḥ savyasācin ||
Sañjaya said: Once, in the forenoon, after I had finished my recitation and was seated after sipping water in the prescribed rite, a brahmin came to me in a secluded place and spoke pleasing words: “O Pārtha, a difficult duty stands before you. O archer skilled with either hand, you must fight your enemies.” Thus war is set not as personal hatred, but as a hard obligation that confronts a kṣatriya when conflict becomes unavoidable, urging him to be ready and not shrink from his appointed responsibility.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as obligation: when a righteous duty becomes difficult—especially for a kṣatriya—one must not evade it out of fear or attachment; the hard action of fighting is presented as a compelled responsibility rather than a personal vendetta.
Sanjaya recounts a past moment after his morning rites when a brahmin privately addressed him with a message directed to Arjuna: that Arjuna must undertake a difficult task and fight his enemies, setting the tone for impending conflict and the counsel surrounding it.