Shloka 35
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
स मां नियुद्धक्ष्व राजेन्द्र यथा योद्धा भवाम्यहम् । प्रतिज्ञातमुपप्लव्ये यत् तत् पार्थेन पूर्वतः,'राजेन्द्र! आप मुझे युद्धके काममें नियुक्त कीजिये। मैं आपका योद्धा बनूँगा। युद्धके पहले उपप्लव्यनगरमें सब लोगोंके सामने अर्जुनने जो यह प्रतिज्ञा की थी कि मैं गंगानन्दन भीष्मका वध करूँगा, बुद्धिमान् पार्थके उस वचनका पालन करना मेरे लिये आवश्यक है
sa māṁ niyuddhakṣva rājendra yathā yoddhā bhavāmy aham | pratijñātam upaplavyē yat tat pārthēna pūrvataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O best of kings, appoint me to the work of battle, so that I may serve as your fighter. For Arjuna, the son of Pṛthā, had earlier made a vow at Upaplavya, before all, that he would slay Bhīṣma, the son of the Gaṅgā. It is necessary for me that the wise Pārtha’s pledged word be carried through.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of a kṣatriya’s pledged word (pratijñā): once a vow is publicly made, honor and dharma demand its fulfillment, even amid the moral complexity of war.
Sañjaya addresses the king and asks to be assigned to battle. He invokes Arjuna’s earlier public vow at Upaplavya to slay Bhīṣma, presenting the fulfillment of that vow as a binding necessity within the unfolding war.