Shloka 65

Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals

Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness

Devanagari script

ऋते प्रायगतं राजन्‌ न्यस्तशस्त्रमचेतनम्‌ । हन्यान्मां युधि योधानां सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि ते,राजन! जब मैं हथियार डालकर अचेत-सा होकर आमरण अनशनके लिये बैठ जाऊँ, उस अवस्थाको छोड़कर और किसी समय कोई मुझे नहीं मार सकता। उसी अवस्थामें कोई श्रेष्ठ योद्धा युद्धमें मुझे मार सकता है; यह मैं तुमसे सच्ची बात कह रहा हूँ

Transliteration

ṛte prāyagataṃ rājan nyastaśastram acetanam | hanyān māṃ yudhi yodhānāṃ satyam etad bravīmi te ||

Translation

O King, except when I have taken up the vow of fasting unto death—having laid aside my weapons and sitting as one insensible—no one can slay me. Only in that condition could some foremost warrior kill me in battle. This I tell you as the truth.

Word by Word

• {'ṛte': 'except, apart from', 'prāyagatam (prāyopagatam)': 'one who has undertaken prāya (fasting unto death), one resolved on death by religious fast', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'nyasta-śastram': 'having laid down weapons

• disarmed', 'acetanam': 'unconscious

• as if without awareness', 'hanyāt': 'might kill

• could slay (optative of √han)', 'mām': 'me', 'yudhi': 'in battle', 'yodhānām': 'of warriors', 'satyam': 'truth', 'etat': 'this', 'bravīmi': 'I say, I declare', 'te': 'to you'}

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• rājan (the king addressed)
• śastra (weapons)
• prāya/prāyopaveśa (fasting unto death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic boundary in warfare: a warrior who has renounced fighting by laying down arms and undertaking a death-fast is no longer a proper target. Yudhiṣṭhira frames his vulnerability only in that renunciatory state, underscoring ideals of restraint, honor, and truthfulness even amid war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king and states that he cannot be slain in ordinary combat; only if he abandons weapons and sits for a fast unto death—appearing unconscious or withdrawn—could a great warrior kill him. He insists he is speaking truthfully, indicating a tense moment where questions of killing, surrender, and dharma are being weighed.