Shloka 296

Devanagari script

विश्वासं समयघ्नानां न यूय॑ गन्तुमर्ह थ । 'पाण्डवोंने अधर्ममें प्रवृत्त होकर अनेकों बार युद्धकी मर्यादा तोड़ी है; अतः आपलोग कभी उनका विश्वास न करें"

Transliteration

viśvāsaṃ samayaghnānāṃ na yūyaṃ gantum arhatha |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Vous ne devez pas accorder votre confiance à ceux qui brisent leurs engagements. Les Pāṇḍava, s’étant tournés vers l’adharma, ont maintes fois violé les limites reconnues de la guerre ; aussi, ne vous reposez jamais sur eux.»

Word by Word

• विश्वासम्: trust, confidence
• विश्वासम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• समयघ्नानाम्: of the breakers of agreement/time (truce-breakers)
• समयघ्नानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समयघ्न
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• यूयम्: you (all)
• यूयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Plural

• गन्तुम्: to go
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Tumun (infinitive), —, —, —, —

• अर्हथ: you ought / you are fit
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Indicative, Second, Plural, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Trust is ethically grounded in fidelity to one’s pledged word and shared norms; those who repeatedly violate agreements and conventions become unreliable, especially in the high-stakes context of war where restraint and honor are meant to limit harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a warning directed to the Kaurava side: the Pāṇḍavas are portrayed as having repeatedly crossed the accepted boundaries of warfare, so the listener is urged not to rely on their promises or presumed adherence to agreed rules.