Shloka 10

जयद्रथवध-प्रतिज्ञा

Arjuna’s Vow to Neutralize Jayadratha

Devanagari script

अहमेव सुभद्राया: केशवार्जुनयोरपि । प्रियकामो जयाकाडुक्षी कृतवानिदमप्रियम्‌,“मैंने ही अपने प्रिय कार्यकी इच्छा, विजयकी अभिलाषा रखकर सुभद्रा, श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनका यह अप्रिय कार्य किया है

Transliteration

aham eva subhadrāyāḥ keśavārjunayor api | priyakāmo jayākāṅkṣī kṛtavān idam apriyam ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «C’est moi seul qui—poussé par le désir d’accomplir ce que je tenais pour cher et par la soif de victoire—ai causé cet acte déplaisant contre Subhadrā, et même contre Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) et Arjuna.»

Word by Word

अहम्I

एवindeed/alone

सुभद्रायाःof Subhadrā

केशवof Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)

अर्जुनयोःof (the two) Arjuna(s) / of Arjuna (dual form used in coordination)

अपिalso/even

प्रियकामःdesiring what is dear (seeking a desired end)

जयाकाङ्क्षीdesiring victory

कृतवान्has done/did

इदम्this

अप्रियम्unpleasant/disagreeable

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Subhadrā

Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)

Arjuna

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds moral accountability: the speaker does not shift blame to fate or others, but admits that personal desire (priyakāma) and ambition for victory (jayākāṅkṣā) can lead one to commit actions that harm even those one reveres—an ethical warning about unchecked ends-justify-means thinking.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya speaks in the first person, acknowledging that he himself caused an act that proved displeasing to Subhadrā and also to Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) and Arjuna, and he identifies his motives as the wish to secure a favored outcome and the craving for victory.