Shloka 10

बभ्रुवाहन-धनंजययोः संग्रामः

Babhruvāhana and Dhanaṃjaya’s engagement at Maṇipūra

Devanagari script

श्रेयो वदामि युष्माकं॑ न हिंसेयमवस्थितान्‌

Transliteration

śreyo vadāmi yuṣmākaṁ na hiṁseyam avasthitān | yo ‘haṁ bhavān iti brūyād raṇe jitvā mayā tv iti | sa tiṣṭhann api me ‘grato na taṁ hanyāṁ yodhāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : « Je parle pour votre salut : je ne frapperai pas ceux qui se retirent du combat. Quel guerrier parmi vous qui, reconnaissant sa défaite sur le champ de bataille, déclare : “Je suis à toi ; tu m’as vaincu dans la guerre”,—fût-il encore debout devant moi, je ne le tuerai pas. Ayant entendu cela, que chacun fasse ce qu’il tient pour son véritable avantage. »

Word by Word

• श्रेयो: what is better / welfare
• श्रेयो: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रेयस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वदामि: I speak / I say
• वदामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वद्
• Form: Present, 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• युष्माकम्: of you (all) / for you
• युष्माकम्: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• हिंसेयम्: I should harm / I would kill
• हिंसेयम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: हिंस्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अवस्थितान्: standing (there), stationed
• अवस्थितान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवस्थित
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• yodhāḥ (warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes a dharmic restraint in warfare: a combatant who openly accepts defeat and submits should not be harmed. It frames mercy toward the surrendered as a higher, welfare-producing course (śreyaḥ), placing ethical limits on violence even amid battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker announces a rule to the assembled warriors: if any opponent acknowledges defeat and declares submission—‘I am yours; you have conquered me’—then even if that person remains standing before him, he will not be slain. The warriors are then told to choose their course based on what they judge to be in their best interest.