Mahabharata 7.33.13 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 33, Shloka 13

Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa

Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment

Devanagari script

सत्यं तात ब्रवीम्यद्य नैतज्जात्वन्यथा भवेत्‌ । अद्यैकं प्रवरं कंचित्‌ पातयिष्ये महारथम्‌

Transliteration

satyaṃ tāta bravīmy adya naitaj jātvan yathā bhavet | adyaikaṃ pravaraṃ kañcit pātayiṣye mahāratham ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Mon fils, je dis la vérité aujourd’hui—il ne peut en être autrement. Aujourd’hui, à coup sûr, j’abattrai un éminent grand guerrier de char du camp des Pāṇḍava.»

Word by Word

• {'satyaṃ': 'truth

• what is real and reliable', 'tāta': 'dear son

• affectionate address (here to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'bravīmi': 'I speak

• I declare', 'adya': 'today

• at this very time', 'na etat': 'not this

• this will not (be otherwise)', 'jātu': 'ever

• at any time', 'anyathā': 'otherwise

• differently', 'bhavet': 'might be

• could happen', 'ekaṃ': 'one', 'pravaram': 'excellent

• eminent', 'kañcit': 'someone

• a certain person', 'pātayiṣye': 'I shall cause to fall

• I shall bring down/kill', 'mahāratham': 'a great chariot-warrior

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Pāṇḍavas (Pāṇḍava side)
• mahāratha (great chariot-warrior)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as a moral stance even amid war, while also showing how declarations of certainty and resolve can function as psychological warfare and self-binding vows—words meant to make an outcome ‘inevitable’ through commitment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting events to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, conveys a warrior’s confident proclamation: that on this very day one foremost Pāṇḍava champion will be brought down. It heightens tension by predicting a major casualty among elite fighters.