Shloka 25

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 29 — Arjuna’s defeat of Vṛṣaka–Acalā and the neutralization of Śakuni’s māyā

Devanagari script

ततोडर्जुनं वासुदेव: प्रत्युवाचार्थवद्‌ वच: । शृणु गुह्ामिदं पार्थ पुरा वृत्तं यथानघ,तब वसुदेवनन्दन भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णने अर्जुनसे ये रहस्यपूर्ण वचन कहे--“अनघ! कुन्तीनन्दन! इस विषयमें यह गोपनीय रहस्यकी बात सुनो, जो पूर्वकालमें घटित हो चुकी है

Transliteration

tato ’rjunaṃ vāsudevaḥ pratyuvācārthavad vacaḥ | śṛṇu guhyam idaṃ pārtha purā vṛttaṃ yathānagha ||

Translation

Alors Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) répondit à Arjuna par des paroles pleines de sens : « Ô Pārtha, écoute ce secret : un récit ancien, tel qu’il advint en vérité, ô irréprochable. » Au cœur de la guerre, Kṛṣṇa présente son conseil comme une vérité confidentielle, éprouvée par le temps, et invite Arjuna à recevoir une direction fondée sur le précédent et la clarté morale.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'arjunam': 'to Arjuna (accusative singular)', 'vāsudevaḥ': 'Vāsudeva

• Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva', 'pratyuvāca': 'replied

• spoke in response', 'arthavat': 'meaningful, substantial, purposeful', 'vacaḥ': 'speech, words', 'śṛṇu': 'listen (imperative)', 'guhyam': 'secret, confidential, esoteric', 'idam': 'this', 'pārtha': 'son of Pṛthā (Kuntī)

• Arjuna', 'purā': 'formerly, in ancient times', 'vṛttam': 'that which occurred

• an event, account', 'yathā': 'as, just as

• in the manner of', 'anagha': 'blameless, sinless (vocative)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Anagha (epithet of Arjuna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kṛṣṇa signals that his guidance is not casual battlefield talk but a weighty, confidential instruction grounded in an ancient precedent. Ethically, it frames right action (dharma) as something illuminated by enduring truths and exemplary past events, to be received with attentiveness and trust.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva) responds to Arjuna, urging him to listen to a secret account from ancient times. The verse functions as a transition: Kṛṣṇa is about to introduce a prior incident or traditional teaching to guide Arjuna’s conduct amid the ongoing war.