Shloka 10

Dyūta-doṣa-prakāśana — Kṛṣṇa’s Critique of Gambling and the Exile Crisis

Devanagari script

त॑ हत्वा विनिवर्तिष्ये कंसकेशिनिषूदनम्‌ | अहत्वा न निवर्तिष्ये सत्येनायुधभालभे,'उसे युद्धकी बड़ी इच्छा रहती है, आज उसके घमंडको मैं चूर कर दूँगा। आनर्तनिवासियो! सच-सच बतला दो। वह कहाँ है? जहाँ होगा, वहीं जाऊँगा और कंस तथा केशीका संहार करनेवाले उस कृष्णको मारकर ही लौटूँगा। मैं अपने अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंको छूकर सत्यकी सौगन्ध खाता हूँ कि अब कृष्णको मारे बिना नहीं लौटूँगा”

Transliteration

taṁ hatvā vinivartiṣye kaṁsa-keśi-niṣūdanam | ahatvā na nivartiṣye satyenāyudha-bhālabhe ||

Translation

«Tras darle muerte a él —a Kṛṣṇa, el destructor de Kaṁsa y Keśin— regresaré. Si no lo mato, no regresaré. Por la verdad, con la mano sobre mis armas, lo juro: no volveré sin haber matado a Kṛṣṇa.»

Word by Word

तान्them

हत्वाhaving slain

विनिवर्तिष्येI shall return

कंसकेशिनिषूदनम्the slayer of Kaṁsa and Keśin (Kṛṣṇa)

अहत्वाwithout killing

नnot

निवर्तिष्येI shall return

सत्येनby truth / with truth (as oath)

आयुधभालभेon the touching/handling of weapons (i.e., with hand on weapons)

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kṛṣṇa

Kaṁsa

Keśin

weapons (āyudha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral weight of speech: invoking satya (truth) as an oath intensifies responsibility, yet using “truth” to sanction violence exposes a tension between the sanctity of truthfulness and the ethical quality of one’s intention.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker vows to kill Kṛṣṇa—identified by his famed deeds as the slayer of Kaṁsa and Keśin—and swears upon weapons that he will not return unless he accomplishes this act, expressing prideful resolve and imminent conflict.